Mariana Wehbe, founder of her namesake PR firm and an avid jewellery connoisseur with a keen eye for emerging regional talent, is a devoted fan. “Shaha has an incredible sensitivity and sensibility to her work. Her pieces are bold, resonating a feminine strength that you want to keep on you all day. It’s powerful,” she shares.
A feminine spirit, intentional or not, permeates Raphael’s work, perhaps rooted in her instinctive, trend-averse approach to accessorising. “I began wearing jewellery only after designing it for myself as a form of self-expression,” she says. “I suppose the act of adornment is essentially a primitive urge, something women (and men) have been doing for centuries, since prehistoric times.”
That visceral self-expression endures, conveying an inclusive language that transcends generations and ideologies. “I’m very inspired by the work of Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda Choucair,” she gushes with enthusiasm. “Her abstract, sculptural work speaks a similar primal language, free from Western or Eastern principles, rooted in nature’s universal narrative.”
Other stronghold influences include her well-heeled, discerning grandmother, Ghofran: “84 years old with impeccable taste, coiffed hair, full make-up and high expectations. When my jewellery speaks to her and gets her approval, that’s when I feel like I’ve transcended generations and won over a really tough crowd!”
So what’s next for Raphael, now that she has beguiled the picky matriarchs in her family?
A glance at one of her latest creations, a bone-shaped chain necklace embellished with a sapphire-studded spoon, begs the questions she’s been mulling all along. Does form follow function? Must an item serve a purpose beyond beauty to exist? If it’s beautiful enough to wear, can I eat with it too? “Taking something rudimentary and making it desirable through beauty changes your experience of it. It makes it special; it makes it…
