Rosh Mahtani: the Alighieri founder’s inspiring journey from school outcast to acclaimed entrepreneur

Journal readers will know the name Rosh Mahtani – partly because we’ve visited her in the past, but partly because she’s very, very good at what she does. Despite the joy it brings, Rosh started her cult jewellery brand, Alighieri, when she was in an unhappy place, finding the glow of precious metals and the healing power of craftsmanship helped her find her way out of the dark – just as Dante, who gave the company its name, made his poetic odyssey from hell through purgatory to paradise. In fact, finding beauty in her circumstances is something Rosh is well practised at, as Matt Gibberd discovered while asking her about a home from her past, present and future for this week’s episode of Homing In.

“Rosh is founder of the brilliant jewellery company Alighieri. We discuss her life story through the prism of the homes she’s lived in, from humble beginnings in Zambia to the beautifully designed flat she now owns in Clerkenwell.

“When Rosh moved to London at the age of eight, she was the only person of colour in her school. She tells me how she’s managed to channel this feeling of alienation towards a personal mission of bringing people together, celebrating commonality rather than difference.

“We talk about the importance of ritual at home and why she likes living on her own. We also discuss her suspicion of the colour green, the joy of negative space and why she imagines herself living in the desert as an old lady. Hope you enjoy it!”

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