My early studies in art school in my native Russia gave me a great advantage in becoming a designer. I wasn’t totally clear what kind of designer I would like to become, until I made my first jewelry piece, where I combined my background in drawing and years of teenage apprenticeship with a very old and very talented jeweler, who had taught me all the essential techniques.

After I moved to United States, I worked for different retail jewelry stores as a bench jeweler, moving my way up to sales and then finally managing a few retail stores. As my passion for jewelry grew, I went to study at F.I.T (Fashion Institute of Technology) and then started my own venture with a partner: a jewelry website. Business was slow at the beginning, but we distinguished ourselves quickly, as back then, there weren’t so many websites that sold jewelry.

After our website took off, I opened up my first jewelry store, and then a second and third, where I got the invaluable experience of working closely with all different kinds of people and understanding consumers’ points of view. I still had a strong passion to design my own jewelry, so I kept at it – during the past 7 years, I have designed and created multiple jewelry brands and collections, all in completely different styles and types.

I can’t say that all of my ventures were successful, but all the hard work and effort has truly paid off. I now feel confident and strong in the things I do and create, and consider myself an entrepreneur who chooses to live, create and do business on my own terms, as the great mentor and businessman Peter Voogd would say.

One of the biggest reasons I decided to start doing one-on-one jewelry mentorship program and coaching is because of my collaborative experience working with different designers at the 3DM Jewelry Design Studio. I really enjoyed my time helping other designers create their collections, fleshing out hundreds of unique designs. I felt the need to create a program helping jewelry designers: guiding them to overcome their struggles, and enjoy the creative process.