Living the Dream: Olia Toporovsky
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Living the Dream: Olia Toporovsky
Age: 29
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Education: B.S. in Computer Science from Boston University
Job Title: Owner of Olia Designs, a jewelry company she founded in 2003
What She Does: Olia designs beautiful handcrafted earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings, which are sold in more than 60 department stores and boutiques across the country, including Henri Bendel, Fortunoff, BCBG, and Ice. (Her designs have also appeared on the pages of InStyle, Lucky, and Brides.) In addition to her artistic bent, Olia is also a certified Reiki instructor, and she uses this healing practice to “clear” each stone and infuse it with positive energy.
How She Got Her Gig: After college, Olia went to work for New York investment firm Salomon Smith Barney in their prestigious government bonds strategy group. “At the time, I thought it was an amazing accomplishment,” says Olia. “But I immediately hated it. It was this old Wall Street firm that took itself so seriously. We worked however many hours a day needed to get the job done, and we had to act like it didn’t matter.” To maintain solace, Olia began studying Reiki healing and soon fell into a hobby she had enjoyed while growing up in the Ukraine: jewelry making. One day, while on her lunch break, she walked into a boutique wearing a necklace she had made and the owners liked it so much they offered to let her sell her jewelry in their store. Within weeks they had sold most of her creations. “That was the first time I thought, ‘Oh, I can make a business out of this,’” she says.
Taking the Leap: Once Olia decided to focus on becoming a jewelry designer, she traded in her expensive Manhattan apartment for a cheaper place in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and began socking away her money. “I wanted to get my bonus and save enough money so that I could live for six months without worry,” she says. In 2003, two weeks after her bonus check cleared, she gave notice.
Open Door: In April 2005, Olia went to Henri Bendel’s “Open Seat,” an event where designers show their wares to Bendel’s buyers in the hopes of selling them in the store. “The line was really long and I didn’t think they were going to pick me,” says Olia. But the buyers loved her stuff and offered her a trunk show. “It gave me so much confidence. I felt like a real designer.”
Required Reading: While Olia glances at fashion magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and W, what really gives her inspiration are the e-mails she receives from her customers. “When someone tells me that they feel so great when they wear my earrings, that’s enough for me,” she says.
Words of Wisdom: “Ask for help when you need it. Two months into making jewelry, I knew that if I had to make the same piece over and over, I’d go crazy. So I quickly hired someone to help me. You have to focus on your strengths.”
This Job’s for You if: You’re creative and have a vision. It also helps if you know how to be a leader, and have a positive attitude. “After I sold my first piece of jewelry, I said to myself, ‘I am so awesome,’” she says, laughing. “That’s really the key.”