GUY TALK: John Hardy’s creative director-turned-co-owner Guy Bedarida dishes up.
By Travis Neighbor Ward
Published in The Atlantan Magazine
If there’s anyone in the high-end jewelry world with a daily routine fit for a fairytale, it’s Guy (“Ghee”) Bedarida, creative director and head designer at John Hardy. When he’s not living out of his luggage and chasing down the hottest gems (current favorite: spinel) for the eco-friendly brand, he’s traveling the continents to show off the new collections. These days that means Cinta, a seven years-in-the-making compilation of 300 one-of-a-kind baubles ranging from $6,000 to $80,000, and crafted in Bali using goldsmithing techniques imported from Paris and New York. But that’s not all he has to pop the bubbly over: Following Hardy’s recent decision to step down, Bedarida has become a co-owner. We caught up with him for a private chat during his recent Neiman Marcus trunk show, when he gave us the dirt on everything from his secret trait to his most indulgent fantasy.
RECIPE FOR JET LAG: Bedarida spends one-third of his time in Bali, where the John Hardy design center is located, and he has a contemporary Asian-style, straw-roofed house. The rest is divided between the company’s Bangkok and Hong Kong offices, Paris (where he has an apartment), and the United States (mainly New York).
TRAINING GROUNDS: He grew up in Paris, where his father’s from, and spent summers in Tuscany, his mother’s birthplace. “Florence and Italy gave me the artistic side of my passion, and Paris gave me really the technique and knowledge of jewelry design and manufacturing.”
FIRST JOB FIT FOR A KING: Um, it was for a king—in a country he won’t name about three hours from the City of Lights. Bedarida was working at the time for “one of the most prestigious [jewelry] companies in Place Vendôme” and for three years solely designed one-of-a-kind pieces for the
throne. “The king was sending his plane any time in the day or night, any day of the week, to have the latest design, and I had to fly to that country.”
GREATEST INDULGENCES: Museums, shopping for antiques and sweets. “I love, love, love ice cream!”
OTHER PASSION: Making women happy. “It’s really Italian, I would say.”
ECLECTIC NATURE: “I think it’s very interesting to mix primitive antiques and
very modern art or furniture or design. It goes very well together.”
BEST BEDTIME ROUTINE: “The person who cleans my house is fantastic— every day she makes my bed and always puts some flowers on my bed and never in the same composition, and never the same flowers.”
ULTIMATE $1 MILLION GIFT FOR HIMSELF: A sailboat. “For sure I’d sail around Bali, which is very pristine, and in the Mediterranean.”
FAVORITE HAUNTS: The Four Seasons Sayan in Bali and the Four Seasons George V in Paris. Or, for dining, Le Voltaire in Paris. “That’s really my absolute No. 1 favorite [restaurant]. I feel home when I’m going there. Their foie gras is incredible.”
BIGGEST SURPRISE: “I really, really love people. What’s inspired me most in my life is the people…. But in reality I’m shy.”
WORST VICE: The sun. “I love to be not protected—no hat, no T-shirt, nothing, just freedom in front of the sun.” Ooh la la!
By Travis Neighbor Ward
Published in THE ATLANTAN, Radar Jewelry, December 2007