Meet Jaya Kandasamy | Proprietor & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaya Kandasamy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaya, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Our mission at Maha Vintage is to uplift rural communities by giving disadvantaged crafts(wo)men a global platform to showcase their works of art.

We develop long lasting relationships with village artists, creators and innovators to support artisanal symbiosis in traditional communities. Past and future lines have been consciously designed in North Carolina, taking inspiration from the semi-tropical environment and commissioned in the southern most providence of India where rural artisans translate these designs into wearable pieces of art.

Based out of Wilmington, North Carolina with deep roots in Tamil Nadu, India, Maha Vintage’s unique perspective seeks to spread the message of generational wealth through inherited artifacts. Traditionally, pure jewelry made of gold, silver and precious stones are passed through the generations, from mother to daughter, and reimagined in each generation through reworking these pure materials to fit modern aesthetics. Maha Vintage takes inspiration from traditions of the past while protecting future generations with genuine and culturally-inspired pieces that never loose their value, simply because the materials used are pure enough to be given infinite lives. Reverence to cultural influences and symbology is of the upmost importance to the Maha Vintage design team who take careful consideration of traditional themes like Shiva (stability, peace), Shakti (manifestation, power), Krishna (beauty), and Radha (love and devotion.)

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The art of Maha Vintage is a mixed media expression of the DeSi experience. I draw inspiration from ancient knowledge, generational wealth and communal strength to create original art, hertiage silver jewelry and locally upcycled clothing. I invite you to submerse yourself in the battle between Eastern and Western perspections clashing only to give birth to a global consciousness!

Maha Vintage started as a small side hustle with intentions to share the important practice of maintaining wealth for future generations. My grandmother was always dripping in gold and wore the most beautiful saris even while doing daily housework. As a child growing up in rural Pennsylvania, I just thought that was her own unique style. When I got older and started questioning the origin of her fierce looks, I came to learn that her reason for wearing her own heritage jewelry and beautifully patterned saris was to keep close her generational wealth. Her pure gold jewelry was fashioned from her mother’s pure gold jewelry and passed down to her as part of her dowry as it was passed to her mother from her grandmother. Generations of Tamil women participate have all practiced honoring their ancestors through daily wear of such items while protecting future generations by integrating their wealth into their wardrobes. My mind was blown by this concept, especially after growing up in contemporary America. I researched other forms of South Indian generational wealth and learned that art, clothing and handcrafting all served the same purpose of protecting future generations. As tribute for all those who came before me, Maha Vintage was born to ensure their reverence would never be forgotten in the diaspora!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu is Maha Vintage’s ancestral land! There are many historically relevant yet extremely beautiful places to visit.

A must-see place is the Meenakshi Amman Temple which is over 2,000 years old. It includes a Hall of 1,000 Pillars that sound unique tones when struck, intricately carved stonework and statues lining its halls and a lucky elephant who will bless you with his trunk for a couple rupees or a banana! Outside the temple is an expansive bazaar, the best in the world if you ask me! You could spend a week there and still have more to see. On the back side of the bazaar is an open space of hundreds of tailors who locals bring their unstitched fabrics and measurements to for custom clothing as is a common practice for everyone.

A short drive away are the hills of Thandikudi and Kodalangadu. Here, tea and coffee plantations can be found and the rich mountainous soil coupled with high-altitude humidity produce flowers the likes of which cannot be found elsewhere. Streams of mountain water are banked by dorian, papaya and jackfruit trees. The fresh air and quotidian pace are worth the trip alone.

Even further south through Tamil Nadu is Kanyakumari. This is the very tip of the entire country of India. Three bodies of water, the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, meet here. Each body of water has a distinct hue of blue and all shine beautifully during both sunrise and sunset. There is a small temple on the last rock of India reachable only by ferry where the goddess Meenakshi left her footprints. The temple has no artificial light inside the inner sanctum and it is said that the gold nose ring of Meenakshi shines so bright in any stream of light that she could guide ships to her bay in olden days.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Maha Vintage was conceptualized as homage to generational traditions that were maintained even post-immigration to foreign lands. The team at Maha Vintage is inspired daily by those who have shared their knowledge for the sake of tradition alone, seeking nothing in return. Our company would not be here today without ancestral knowledge as well as the unyielding support of both the diaspora and native communities!

Website: Mahavintage.Squarespace.com

Instagram: @Mahavintagenyc