Julia Popovich, Zhulia Pearl Necklace Collection
Posted Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 7:41 pm under Businesses.
When asked how Julia decided to make the switch from the corporate world to starting her own pearl jewelry design company, an interesting story unfolds:
To begin, Julia fell in love with China and the Chinese language when she was a little girl. Living in Upstate New York, her parents often entertained Chinese-speaking colleagues at her home. She would learn simple phrases from them, and found it fascinating. What an interesting language, she thought. Each word spoken sounds like a song – and each word has it’s own picture or character.
A year after finishing high school, Julia decided to study Mandarin Chinese in Asia. She began by living and going to school in Hong Kong. Later, after two years in Hong Kong, and after studying Chinese language and culture in the U.S., she then moved to Shanghai and graduated from University there with a major in Asian studies and a minor in Mandarin language.
After Julia graduated, she decided to stay and work in Shanghai. A couple years after working in Shanghai, she ended up moving back to the U.S. to ponder other ways she could work with China and use her Chinese. During her transition in the U.S., she began to be drawn to Pearls. Culturing Freshwater pearls began in China, and is prevalent in and around Shanghai. Through her travels back and forth to China, Julia became more and more interested in designing jewelry with pearls.
Julia had previously thought of pearls as a luxury item – similar to diamonds or other precious stones, often worn in a single, simple strand. She then began to see pearls in a whole different light. Not only were they unique, since they are from living creatures, but they also had a versatility she had never noticed. One could make and wear pearls in so many creative ways: in a multi-strand necklace, as an addition to an already beautiful crystal or gold necklace, or as a single enhancer. So many ways to wear what once Julia considered the ‘conservative’ pearl!
As her interest in pearls grew, so did her questions. Where did pearls come from? After much study at the Gemological Institute of America, Julia was astonished to discover that a living thing, a mollusk (Freshwater Pearls are grown in mussels, and Saltwater Pearls are grown in oysters), creates pearls when it finds an intruding piece inside of its shell. It then begins to cover this ‘intruder’ with layers of nacre (nay-kruh). In essence, the mollusk creates pearls by protecting itself from intruders – making it an organic gem unique from any other pearl!
She began by drawing simple sketches of pearl jewelry designs and then transformed these drawings into unique, wearable pieces of art. Last October her company, Zhulia, was born. She created a logo, a website, and began organizing her designs. Zhulia now has over 100 pearl jewelry designs, the website displaying 40 of the total designs!
Combining creativity, a love for China, and a real appreciation for these amazing ‘living’ gems, Zhulia is able to bring you sophisticated – yet stylish, simple – yet elegant, unique – yet timeless pieces that can be treasured for many lifetimes.
And now Julia invites her old friends and new, to visit Zhulia … The place where the wonder of nature meets the uniqueness of personal style.
For more information, and to view the entire Zhulia Pearl Necklace Collection please visit: http://www.zhuliajewels.com
November 19th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
These necklaces are BEAUTIFUL!! What a special gift these would make for someone!