I am the designer and owner of LAZULI JEWELRY. My work is best described as bold and my unique pieces are a culmination of skill, artistry, and the fearlessness to transcend the norm in shape, style, composition and structure, producing in the process truly original and contemporary jewelry which is unmistakably characteristic of the brand. My website is: www.lazulijewelry.com

EDUCATION |

HOW TO GET STARTED | I have always been creative, and as a child always delved into any form of art imaginable. When deciding which career path to embark upon, I chose one which would foment my creativity, while providing me with professional business skills. As a result, I pursued Advertising, with a marketing concentration and received a BS degree from one of the countrys best Communications schools at Boston University. After graduation I worked at a couple of small to medium-sized companies in the Boston-area, but my penchant for adventure and my multi-culturally enriched personality drove me to seek opportunities abroad. I took a position at McCann-Erickson, a large multi-national advertising agency in Mexico City at which I was responsible for managing regional Latin American advertising activities for several global clients. Two years later I was offered a position with their London office. While I enjoyed the travels and perks that working for a large multi-national agency provided, at the end of the day the bureaucracy of these large organizations stifled my creativity and wherever possible I sought to compensate by delving into artistic hobbies by taking courses and working under some very talented people . In Mexico City, I began to dabble in jewelry design and I continued this throughout my time in London. Forwarding the clock, 7 years later I have created a brand of contemporary jewelry called LAZULI, and I am operating my own retail, wholesale and internet business. The key ingredient to starting your own business is PASSION. You must be ready, willing and able to sleep, eat and breathe your business for years. You also need to get into it for the right reasons. Many people believe that having a lousy boss, or very little vacation time are good reasons to get out on their own, and then when they have NO vacation time, and an even more stringent and difficult boss (themselves), they regret the decision. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, and I recommend to anyone that is considering taking this step, to ask themselves some very serious questions about their personality before diving in. For example, are you willing to work 12- 16 hour days, every day for 7 days a week? Can you handle criticism and failure with maturity? Can you handle success with grace and humility? The training, experiences, and resources are things that one can acquire through the right contacts, research, courses, the more difficult part is initially assessing if you are right for the job.

MUST HAVE TRAITS |

how I got started |

why this job?|

why I love this job!| My job allows me to learn something new about myself every single day. I can challenge myself in ways that I never imagined possible and this is what fuels me. My job allows me to see the direct fruits of my labor. At any point of reflection, I can look back and know that everything that I have accomplished is a result of my hard work and determination. I consider myself a person that gets frustrated with routine. My job is anything but monotonous, I am constantly on the go-- traveling, evolving, creating, re-inventing. I love the flexibility that my job allows for, I can work at any time and from anywhere, and in fact do some of my best work outside of my office at the most unconventional hours. I wear many, many hats at LAZULI. I am not only designer (which is my area of expertise), but I am also responsible for managing every single other aspect of the business. Amongst many other things, I hire and manage my staff, select vendors, oversea the manufacturing of my designs, head my own marketing and public relations efforts, and am solely responsible for any and all web updates. Most recently, I have been taking graphic design courses in order to allow me to translate my own creative vision into other aspects of my business.

my typical day|

what they are | If the business succeeds, it is because of me, and if the business takes a turn it is also because of ME--this can be very daunting, and stressful. I also find it very hard to shut off and relax, leaving work AT work is practically impossible. In addition, especially in the earlier stages of ones own business, everything that comes in, ends up going back out as it is re-invested in the business and cash can often be tight, and what ends up in your pocket at the end of the day is minimal. The hopes are that it will all pay off in the long run.

all about growth | I want to grow LAZULI and diversify the line into a larger range of accessories, belts, handbags, etc. The brands international potential is high, and I will seek expansion in fashion-forward Asian and European markets. This will be my focus in 2009.

my website| http://www.lazulijewelry.com