NIALAYA JEWELRY

NIALAYA is founded by Danish-born designer Jannik Olander. The company is L.A based, but the precious stones and semi-precious stones, beads, materials and other items you see in Nialaya’s collections are handpicked by the designer around the world.

On Jannik’s first trip to India, he meets a local Shaman who asks to read his palm. The Shaman sits peacefully on a blanket handmade of purple silk. The once smooth fabric is now weathered and aged from decades of use. Stains and red dust cover parts of a once beautiful golden French lily, woven into silk. The Shaman’s honest eyes are a calm and piercing emerald green. He wears a simple white cotton cloth, wrapped around his body. His white cloth and vivid green eyes stand in sharp contrast to his dark skin. Jannik, who is very used to vendors and the locals constantly trying to sell him everything and anything imaginable on the streets of India, excuses himself. He turns the Shaman’s offer down and walks on.
One week later, Jannik meets the same Shaman with the stunning emerald eyes once again, who is sitting on the same purple silk blanket. The Shaman requests to read his palm once more, and for some undefined reason, Jannik decides to give the man a few minutes of his time. In complete silence, the Shaman looks thoroughly at Jannik’s palm for a few minutes. Then, he closes it, looks up and speaks:
‘’For a long time, you have been focused on the end gain- the result. It has given you many
experiences and great knowledge; but also confusion and pain. Now, it is time for you to
change your focus and path. You are your own master. You make your own future.
Therefore, discipline yourself as a horse-dealer trains a thoroughbred.‘’
The Shaman takes out a small leather bag and hands it to Jannik. Inside, is a tiny diamond.
‘’This is your birthstone. It has great powers.
Use it wisely. Now, farewell.’’
A couple of days later, Jannik returns to find the Shaman. But he has left his usual spot and is nowhere in sight. Jannik asks the neighbors whether they know where the Shaman is, but the only thing they are able to tell him is that the mysterious man goes by the name of ‘Nialaya’. For the rest of his stay in India, Jannik visits the same spot every day without any luck. Nialaya has vanished.
This meeting with the Indian Shaman became a signifier in Jannik’s life, and he still keeps the leather bag with his birthstone close to him wherever he goes. It truly reminds him of how important it is to create something beautiful and meaningful in life. That is why Jannik decided to name his jewels after the Shaman NIALAYA.