Student Spotlight: Monica Ruzansky

LV: When did you first start making jewelry?

MR: I started my practice in Mexico City with the jeweler Adriana Lieberman back in 2006, then I paused for a few years and went and back again in 2010 with Caroline Glemann at Liloveve, Borislav Goynatsky as well as with Billy at Sterling Quest in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

LV: What classes have you taken at Liloveve?

MR: Rose Cut Diamond Ring, Gold Alloying, Stackable Rings and Flush Setting, all really wonderful classes.

LV: Where do you draw your inspiration when designing your work?

MR: It really varies, it can start by looking at a stone – it’s color, or shape. Looking at patterns in nature is a very rich source of inspiration for me, and as well as I really take pleasure in looking at reflections or glimpses of light and I try to translate that into my work.

Other great unexpected inspirational moments happen in the studio during the design and production processes, where mistakes become a starting point for a new idea or even become an actual piece themselves.

LV: Do you sell you work? If so, where?

A few places in Brooklyn are: THE CLAY POT , CATBIRD, & THISTLE & CLOVER

LV: Have you been featured in any press?

MR: NY Magazine ‘The Cut’, Brooklyn Magazine, Travesias Magazine, Folio Digital

LV: What’s your favorite piece you’ve ever made?

MR: After my husband proposed to me I proposed to him with a not very wearable ring that I named “Ring de Rêve”. It’s a hollow ring that has a little drawer with a gold umbrella as a knob for opening it on one side, on the other side has a peep hole where if you get the right light you can see an engraved eye with eyelashes in side and lastly at the top there is a piece of rock from Iceland, the place where he actually proposed to me.

In terms of my own line, the Tulum Sunshine earrings and the diamond drop necklace are two of my favorites.

LV: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

MR: Cambodia.

LV: If you could collaborate with another designer/artist, who would it be and why?

MR: Julio le Parc. His his light pieces are something really special to me. Magic is something that happens by chance, involving timing and luck, but I think Julio le Parc’s art encapsulates experiential magic.

Julio Le Parc

LV: What’s the most fun aspect of being a jewelry designer?

MR: The satisfaction of seeing designs begin in your mind or on paper and then take physical form in your hands, as you bring them to life.