Ajoonii, a French Quarter Boutique with India-Inspired Jewelry

Describe a river-shaped city whose humidity burrows deep in the skin, that fervently throws festivals for almost everything, that cares for its culinary character with the reverence of spiritual devotion  and cranks it up for a wild and multiethnic music tradition, and you easily could be talking about New Orleans — or New Delhi.

So striking are the parallels, and a nearly shared latitude, between Rishita Monga’s birthplace and her adopted home, one would think that, through mounds of meticulous research, the creative entrepreneur intentionally selected the Big Easy for a relocation that was culturally complementary, as far as international moves go.

Think again.

“This city chose me, I didn’t choose it,” says the jewelry designer as she nears the one-year anniversary of the opening of her French Quarter boutique. “It’s because of the community of New Orleans that I can even do this. There’s so much acceptance here, so much support for a woman of color. There’s so much love in this place.”

Monga’s “long journey,” as she calls it, didn’t begin with a business plan. Growing up in a family and culture wher

e the arts were discouraged as a viable career path, she left India six years ago not to chase a dream, but simply to navigate her own uncertainty. A stint in Tampa Bay gave way to the upheaval of the pandemic and a reset. The creative, who had worked in the music and modeling industries, took an opportunity in New Orleans in fine dining, and there she found herself learning both a new job and the lagniappe nuances of an American city that speaks with a unique rhythm.

“I thought I knew English,” Monga says, laughing, “until I worked in a New Orleans restaurant.” But what could have remained a job of survival became something more instructive, thanks to her creative eye.

Working in an Indian restaurant, Monga noticed how dishes so familiar to her were elevated and romanticized in this foreign context. “It was spoken about almost poetically,” she recalls. And she had an idea: Jewelry rooted in her culture could be elevated too, but presented in an accessible and contemporary way in Louisiana.

She started small — designing and hand-making about 20 pairs of earrings.

Monga didn’t throw a formal launch party or make a big social media push. She wore them to work, shared them with coworkers and curiosity did the rest. Customers began asking about the pieces, then asking to buy them. “Even one sale felt like a lot in the beginning,” Monga says.

Growth came incrementally with arts market booths and word-of-mouth. She balanced restaurant shifts with building her brand. “If I could make one day’s worth of money, I would take one day off from the restaurant,” she says.

Step-by-step, she transitioned full time to her jewelry. She sketches every design, and now sells multiple lines of India-inspired earrings, necklaces, hairpieces and chokers. Inspiration arrives in fragments, and sometimes even in dreams. Each element is sourced or manufactured in New Orleans and India.

As a brand name, Ajoonii is drawn from the spiritual concept of being beyond the cycle of birth and death, something limitless. For Monga, Ajoonii is not just a company, it’s more like a mantra, her daily practice of being grounded with intention. Her designs transcend a fixed plan or even rationality, just like her own journey to Louisiana.

“With flower pieces I start with one type in mind, but while creating, I lose track, and the flower itself becomes something else, something new,” she says. “It ends up being something that doesn’t actually exist, except in this one piece of jewelry, and I think that’s very exciting, too.”

Welcoming tourists and locals alike to the Ajoonii shop, one block from Jackson Square, Monga may be very far from where she grew up, but launching her own brand and expressing such vivid creativity has her feeling like she is finally home.

“This is a long homecoming for me,” Monga says. “After all those years I’m coming home to myself, and you know, this is the sweetest thing ever, because I did take some detours along the way.”

Q&A

If you could design a custom piece for anyone, who would it be? It would have to be Lana Del Rey. I play her music exclusively at the store, and it feels like she belongs to the aesthetic of Ajoonii. Or maybe my jewelry’s aesthetic just happens to suit her. I know the customers really appreciate the vibes her music add to the store.

What do you love to do in New Orleans for fun? I do work most of the time, but for fun I like to venture out for food. Finding new places with great vegetarian options around New Orleans always excites me. I definitely look for quiet places near water or in a park. But for going out for live music, Frenchmen Street is a staple. 

What’s the best piece of business advice that you have ever gotten or read? A business owner should think like an employee, and an employee should think like an employer. This gears the business owner toward building a strong team from the ground up, and it helps employees expand their view of what they could pursue when they start their own ventures. The advantage is great leadership and mutual respect.

RISHITA MONGA

Occupation Owner/Designer, Ajoonii

Social Media @ajoonii_shop on Instagram

Store 830 Chartres St., New Orleans