Details
Measurements: 16" in length
Metal : Sterling Silver
Stone Details: Ruby Heart
Artist Bio
Manya & Roumen's pieces are homages to the animal kingdom. They slither, flutter, and perch on the wearer as totems of the strength, resilience, courage, perseverance, and wisdom accumulated by animals over the millions of years that they have roamed this earth.
When designing a piece, Manya researches all detail related to an animal from the animal's bone structure to social behavior. After drawing a rough sketch, Manya carves the animal from a block of wax, allowing the wax's malleable and forgiving nature to influence the outcome.
Manya has been enchanted with animals since she was little, drawn to their sincerity and purity of spirit. As she grew up, her creative curiosity led her to explore the link between art, sculpture, and the animal form while living in Japan, Canada, Mexico, South America, Italy, and finally New York--where Manya received her MFA. Roumen grew up in a small agricultural town in Bulgaria but his dream was to move to New York City and start his own business.
As fate would have it, Manya & Roumen met in Brooklyn in 2004, just after Roumen completed his PhD In Economics and Information Systems. Together, the couple traveled to Bulgaria (where they married in 2006), Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Belgium, England, and Canada. The travels stimulated their creative imagination and so Manya & Roumen was born on Valentine's day in 2009, with Manya as the creative director and Roumen as the business manager.
Manya & Roumen live with their two adopted dogs, Raya & Rhonda, and their adopted cat, Petunia, in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Manya's studio is also there - just a train-ride from the Jewelry District in New York City, where Manya & Roumen's creations are carefully finished by hand.
Manya & Roumen believe that animals need our love and protection. They donate 5% of annual profits to local animal charities, and 5% of each direct retail sale to an animal charity of the client's choice.
