They say art will save the world. But before it saves someone’s individual world, at least once we hear the line, “I went through a lot of hardships to get here.
And I am not saying that she has not gone through hardships – on the contrary. But for her, they are challenges that pass with ease and finesse. Because she believes that when you put your heart and soul into it, nothing is impossible.
She makes jewellery. Truthfully, I was looking forward to talking about the difficult times she’s been through. But this interview turned out pretty upbeat. Gergana Nikolova surprised me! Because, her art didn’t just save her life, it saved her soul.
When did you discover your talent?
– It all started in 2017. I was struggling financially at the time, and a friend who made martenitzes offered me to sell for her. To avoid undercutting her items, I decided to make my own designs to sell at her booth with her permission. I enjoyed the process so much that it has become a hobby of mine. While working in an office, I just couldn’t wait to get home from work, sit at my desk and crank out some stuff. Anything I made I gave away. I’d go to the office, walk in, and…
my legs are pulling me back
And I decided to put an end! My soul was in it.
How has it evolved since then?
– I developed a lot. I don’t do what I used to do. I incorporate new ideas, new techniques, new things. I try all the time. What I started in the beginning is almost gone now. I also have to follow market tendencies, what appeals to me. There’s that moment where you have to be a salesman as well as an artist. If you can afford to just be an artist, either you’re very good, or you have someone who helps you financially. As long as you have to make a living that way, anyway, there’s a pretty big commercial nuance.
You’re following market trends
Who is your art for?
– I hit a niche. There’s an awful lot of jewellery for adults, but no jewellery for children, and of course for people with a sense of humour who look at the world a bit more childishly, who have kept the child in them. There are also adults who buy teddy bears. It’s wonderful! I’m very happy for people who get excited by such unconventional and colourful things. We have enough serious things in life. You have to have something in your life that is out of the ordinary, something that
to bring us that childishness and say, “Wow!”
Don’t tell me you haven’t had difficulties along the way. Everyone has!
– I feel like I lost those two years where I was at a crossroads. Whether to leave the job that was bringing me a steady income but absolutely no satisfaction or the one that was bringing me satisfaction and making me happy but not really bringing me an income. Whatever we say, money is important. The truth is, if one puts their heart and soul into it, and doesn’t take a purely mercantile approach to things, there’s no way it won’t work out, there’s just no way. When you find the thousand ways to make it happen, it just happens,
there’s no way it can’t happen!
To get into business, don’t you have to think strategically?
– I’m not a strategic person. I act with my heart, whatever my heart tells me. The way I feel it. But I also listen to what the clients want. If I like it and I like what they want, I try to have it. That’s why I have such an assortment. In the beginning, I started with three or four models. Like the question:
Do you have llamas?
My answer then was, I don’t have llamas, but next time I will.
Yeah, at one time people were obsessed with capybaras.
– And now they have them. That’s why I have a collection of capybaras. Not because capybaras excite me, but because this animal is trending and appeals to people. Somebody said, do you have any? And I’ve tried to have one.
Another important thing about my work is that I strive to make each piece of jewelry in the safest way possible. I don’t make something just to have it. I want the person, when they get it, to be satisfied, to be absolutely sure of its safety. I only work with medical grade steel.
I can’t without asking you this question. How do you deal with criticism?
– A lot depends on what the criticism is. If it is constructive, great! I learn from it. That’s also how I started working with safe materials. In the beginning I just took what I found from the market. One little kid came back and said to me, ‘Well, you have a lot of nice things, but my ears got sore.’ When I heard that, I would have sunk into the ground in horror. But then I did my own research to get the safest materials possible. But if it’s just to have criticism, to voice our displeasure because the world is crooked… it’s not mine. I’ve noticed something interesting in this regard. The moment there is something negative and then
something positive happens to you
There is always a compensation.
What is your favorite technique?
I love working with beads. When I start working with them, I have a ritual. I light a candle and some scented sticks, play some soft meditative music and it’s divine. It’s my best time. And I’m absolutely certain that the people who wear my beaded earrings feel this energy of ease and bliss.
Do you have a gem you can’t part with?
– I have a bracelet that I’ve been stringing for about 48 hours. It’s unsellable and it’s extremely beautiful, at least to me. But it stays at home, as one of my first most treasured things that I can’t part with. It was also one of the moments when
I lost track of time
My watch said it was four in the morning, and I didn’t realize it at all. I was so immersed in the process.
How do you compete with the cheaper manufacturers, or can I take the liberty here of underlining the ever-popular ‘Made in China’ label on almost every item?
– You won’t see the same precision and refinement in Chinese goods as you will in something that is made with love. With Chinese goods, the process is mechanised, the faster the better. If someone buys something that has heart put into it, they will feel it for sure. That’s why more and more people like to buy, I don’t want to say the word handmade because it’s foreign, but something made with heart.
Tell me something memorable that happened to you at the Varna-Sea Eco-Festival?
– I used to give gifts. There are kids who come to the booth and want something badly, but their parents say they can’t. Then my heart just melts and I decide to give. One case was with a kid who wanted so badly to give his friend a parka, but his dad wouldn’t allow it. And I couldn’t stand it… I believe that
the more you give, the more you get back
What do you say to people who want to do this or that kind of art?
– Act! There is nothing to wait for. I regret the two years I lost in office work. At the same time, my heart was tugging at me. But I realize I wouldn’t have made it this way. The best thing they can do is cut off absolutely any path of return. The moment you have a backup plan, you’re not going to put all your energy into it.
And a timely question: will artificial intelligence replace art?
– Thank God we are evolving. Once upon a time there were no cars and people went from one village to another in a day. Artificial intelligence will not make it difficult for us. It will only make the world more accessible to us. I am for development, for new things. In my opinion, nobody can replace humans. Except maybe fears are increasing.
Gergana Nikolova is a master of the jewel. She has two degrees but decided to do something completely different. Something that makes her happy – art. “When you shimmer and your whole being glows while your hands create. When you don’t know where it came from, how or why, but still let creativity take you over. When, in an incredibly magical way, you immerse yourself in the process and put all your heart, soul, emotion and previously unsuspected skills into a single moment – the moment when you create yourself through jewellery today, here and now. When you see the eyes of the people who touch your products shine. And when you get the right support, in the right way, from the right people and at the right time – that’s what happens.