In Penza, there is the only mini-workshop for creating jewelry from real flowers and plants. Earrings, pendants, brooches, bracelets, rings made by the hands of craftswoman Valeria Mishina allow preserving particles of nature dear to the heart.
– Yes, you can. The main thing is to properly dry, process and fill with a special epoxy resin. I am often approached by romantic ladies with a request, for example, to keep in the form of a pendant or a ring the rose petals given by a loved one. Once a girl ordered earrings with flowers from a wedding bouquet. Someone orders flowers as amulets. Or, knowing the “language” of flowers, they ask to make some kind of decoration “with meaning”: for example, a rose is a well-known symbol of love, a carnation is a symbol of passion, a cornflower is grace, a daisy is innocence, modesty, loyalty, etc. Many people choose flowers by zodiac sign. I make most of the jewelry to my taste. Therefore, in addition to custom work, you can always choose something from the jewelry available. I use earrings (the metal part of the earrings that goes into the earlobe) made entirely of surgical steel. They are hypoallergenic and can be worn by everyone. In addition, I work with silver – such jewelry will suit those who cannot wear other metals.
– I work with whole flowers. For example, rosebuds look very beautiful. Pendants or earrings are spectacular with them. I dry them in a special way. This allows the unblown flower to retain its volume, size and color.
– As a child, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents in Zarechny, the city of flowers and a riot of vegetation. I was fond of collecting flowers, herbs. Together with my grandparents, we made herbariums. We made beautiful albums with dried grass-maravushki on the pages. My grandparents talked about the plants that I collected. With age, this hobby was forgotten. Several years ago I found these albums and decided that such beauty should not languish in books. I wanted to decorate the interior of the house with these flowers. I started looking for decorating ideas on the Internet. Frames, panels came across … I did not like all this. By chance I saw the work of a girl from America. She made plants in resin. I didn’t believe that this could be. This technique of preserving flowers really interested me! I started looking for where this resin can be obtained. I ordered the necessary components via the Internet and began to create.
– I read several lessons on the Internet. Unfortunately, there is very little educational material. Therefore, I learned from my mistakes. I slightly improved the technique taken from the Internet for myself, and began to create. I remember my first job. 2015 year. Autumn. The flowers and grass were mostly blooming, and the rest were in dull colors. My first works are brown-beige leaves. Alas, this was the situation when the first pancake was lumpy. The work didn’t work out, but nevertheless I didn’t stop.
– At the moment, yes. At first, it was only interest, I just wanted to try to do something unusual. In the beginning, I myself, my friends, wore my jewelry. I had no plans to make jewelry for sale. But when friends of friends began to ask me, to find out who made these jewelry, whether it is possible to buy them somewhere, I thought. At the moment, I am intensively engaged in the creation of decorations from plants, improving my technique, learning about new materials. The most important thing is that my hobby gives me incredible pleasure.
– I have a higher education with a degree in Management. I would like to go into the profession, but at the moment I have much more desire to deal with jewelry, to continue to develop in this area. So far, I give priority to this.
– Enough. For example, whole petals are covered with 5 layers of resin so that they are beautiful, voluminous. One layer of resin dries for at least 3 days. It takes an average of 10-14 days to create one piece of jewelry. The work is very painstaking, but I’m used to it.
– For me, this is a small achievement. It is expensive and valuable that people wear and sincerely admire my jewelry. This is the biggest reward and inspiration to create further!
– Yes, sure. I regularly participate in exhibitions in Penza, which take place in the shopping center “Collage” on the last weekend of the month. There are shelves in several shops in the city with my jewelry. I participate in exhibitions in other cities. I would like to go to Kazan and the Crimea. At exhibitions, you directly communicate with people and see their reaction. Many do not hide their surprise and admiration. I usually always tell you what kind of jewelry they are made of. Not everyone immediately believes that they are flowers, some even smell. Participation in exhibitions both exhausts and makes me happy, makes me go forward. Seeing that people truly admire your work and your work is valuable and important. It encourages and gives a tremendous amount of strength to move on!