Story

I love getting to know people and hearing their stories.

I like to read other designers' stories when I visit their websites. That's why I also share mine.

I haven't planned to be a jewellery maker. 

I tried almost everything else first: I studied cosmetology and earned a bachelor’s degree. During that time, I worked in gastronomy. I dreamed of a career in cosmetics marketing and management. After graduating, I spent several years as a beauty consultant — until I burned out. I also worked as a professional makeup artist in fashion, film, and photography. Eventually, I grew tired yet I still wanted to learn, develop and work with people - a new energy and direction in my life gave me Service Design, that I studied in Warsaw and where I moved into IT for a few years. After a learning and growing curve I moved to Sweden, hopeful to land a full-time job as a service designer. That never happened.

I was working my ass out, between tech conferences and meetups, networking, juggling different jobs, starting my first therapy and reevaluating my life. And in 2020, everything stopped. I lost all I built up and my purpose, again.

Looking for something that would refresh my creativity, I enrolled on a Hyper Island full-time school in Stockholm. I got in, and it felt like a new start. But after some time, everything moved online, resulting in 8-hour-in-front-of-the-computer sessions, which should be creative-in-person-collaboration sessions.

I tried different ways to rescue my psyche: therapy, yoga and meditation helped, but I craved something manual.

Then one evening, I scrolled my phone and I saw a photo of a stone necklace that I never seen before. And my first thought was: I could make that.

That moment sparked everything. With time, I bought the first materials and started experimenting and creating jewellery. And further, the first people started noticing and wanting to buy my stuff.

After graduating and finishing an internship that didn’t lead anywhere, I faced another wave of uncertainty in 2022, with war in Ukraine and the upcoming economic crash. That’s when I thought: Now or never. I registered Stones and Stuff Stockholm.

Jewellery was never the plan, but looking back, it all fits. I’ve been drawn to beauty, meaning, and craft since I was a child, and I have a set of useful skills to run the company. First of all, I’ve always loved stones, pearls, and crystals. My parents often took me to stone fairs as a kid and I was FASCINATED by their colours, structures and glimmer. Secondly, I’ve worked in sales, fashion, and IT as well I studied service design and content creation, which helps me to manage this website and carry on with brand management in general. 

Jewellery-making gave me what I couldn’t find in a traditional career: space to create, connect, and grow. It became my passion, my job — and a way to meet incredible people like you.

This brand is not just mine — it’s ours.

That’s why:

  • Every model is named after the first person who bought it
  • I offer custom orders, made just for you
  • I repair, remake, and upcycle your old jewellery — giving new life to forgotten materials - read about the services I offer
  • I welcome your ideas and feedback, always!

Thank you for being here.
Julia

 

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Questions? Write me!