Raseiniai’s mother of three decided to change her attitude towards Lithuanian gold

The mother of three daughters tried to show that amber was certainly not just a grandmother’s ornament. It is unique, lively and exclusive. When creating jewelry, grinding amber, the creator was delighted with its smell. So gradually Živilė’s artistic pursuit was supplemented with handmade scented soy wax candles.

Inspired by a vacation in Mexico

The sea pampers us with unique gifts even in a windy autumn or early spring: natural amber, which the Baltic countries can use to reward everyone after a stronger storm or strong wind.

It seems that amber, which is called Lithuanian gold, is a gift from the Baltic countries. Its processing should take place here in Lithuania, somewhere by the sea. However, amber masters and enthusiasts abound in Lithuania, as well as abroad.

Živilė’s first creative attempts to make jewelry were born eight years ago, when a woman returning from a vacation in Mexico brought back not only a tan and memories, many thoughts, great curiosity, interest in amber and, later, the future idea of business.

His entire being was influenced by the story of a talented guide about blue amber in one of the Mexican cities, where Živilė learned how and where extremely rare blue amber is found and bought an incredible piece of jewelry with this stone.

When he returned to Lithuania, he stopped thinking, became interested. And Lithuania? The curious woman was surprised by the stereotype that prevailed in our countries at that time, that amber necklaces and everything related to amber were supposedly adorned with grandmothers. It was seen as outdated. The creative woman challenged herself to resurrect amber in a new, modern and contemporary way.

A teacher from Telšiai helped

“Having discovered and better known the stone amber loved by the sea, I began to create jewels, unpolished, alive and exclusive. I sought to show that not only diamonds can shine, but also women who choose uniqueness, especially ours. You have to think about every detail when creating, so jewelry is like a little pleasure in life, which should warm, decorate and soften ”, Ž. Bružienė.

The woman’s first product contained more pebbles, less amber. Because it took time to get used to the yellow stone. Later, while visiting antique stores, there was interest in ancient amber products. After purchasing and consulting with like-minded people, he found out the date of appearance of the products, the place of production or their craftsman.

Much knowledge about the residents of Viduklė. Antanas Gricius, an amber master from Telšiškis, was handed over to the entrepreneur, to whom he was able to apply both day and night. He is a true amber enthusiast, willing to share his knowledge with everyone. Folk artist Telšiškis doesn’t even count how many amber colors and shades he discovered during his lifetime. For him, each piece of amber has so many reflections, so many different colors in our lives, sadness is expressed in the dark, and joy, warmth, goodness, in the warm yellowish tones, its brilliance, its transparent shine.

Here’s the amber rind that remains: the red, when polished, appears transparent yellow, and sometimes white. Over time, amber comes off with certain plates, changes color, matures. There are harmonies of dark brown, bright red, orange, slightly yellowish or bright yellow, whitish amber.

Well, and probably the rarest is the bluish one. It is the most beautiful, although quite rare. When impurities get into natural resins, only then does amber turn blue, green, black, brown. It can be transparent or matte, sanded, just glossy.

“Our Lithuania is a small country. You can take it all the way in four hours. So distances are not a problem here. If we need amber raw material, we go to the sea or another corner of Lithuania, where it can be purchased. No we participate in serial production, therefore each piece of amber is carefully selected, inspected before purchase, ”said Živilė Bružienė.

I would not live with my hands

And how did candle making come to life? Živilė revealed that the first idea came from experimenting with natural beeswax, making candles with it. Unfortunately, the creators of this material have not yet been able to master it.

“All my life I was very curious, even before the production of amber jewelry, I had attended aromatherapy courses, I was interested in myself. And when I started to grind, pierce amber, a wonderful aroma spread, it was charming to me, charming with something. I started thinking about adding aromas to my products, so I created my own handmade scented soy wax candles, ”shared the interviewee.

She said that after noticing that candle masters in Lithuania produce a lot of this product and it is very tasty, but she did not find one that was stylistically suitable for her home.

She claimed to be a lover of modesty, classicism, luxury, but not necessarily expensive minimalism. The house needed candles that fit a classic and modern interior.

Goda, the eldest daughter of the interviewee, who studies pharmacy, is diligent and willing to help her mother, has been a great help to develop the idea of ​​making candles. Mom and daughter were very interested in discussing a possible business idea together, searching and creating designs, scents. Some of the fragrances were created by the two women themselves, others by those who had already created them.

There are still no physical stores installed by them, and only candles on the Internet, they will not have yet managed to upload to the electronic store. Descriptions are still being prepared, products are being photographed. However, its products are sold in flower shops and gift shops, which the manufacturer himself finds.

We asked, is it possible to make a living out of amber candle and jewelry production these days, when businesses are just starting out? “Of course, with ‘hands-free’ and without the full help of the other party, it would be difficult, but now I can afford not to work and enjoy creative activities. Well, in terms of income, it is important that you answer for yourself what you want. If you are going to expand the business and maintain it, live as you would like to fully satisfy the interests of your women, it is not very far yet ”, opened the producer.

The garage becomes a studio

And where are these incredible products born? Živilė opened that his daughter has written a project under the Business and Economic Development Program and received funding, so the garage of the family home is gradually turning into a cozy and creative studio.

Soon, new amber grinding machines and drilling equipment should arrive in the family garage studio – everything you need to make and present jewelry. The post-Easter acceleration works.

“In ancient times, people believed that amber absorbs all the light in the world, heals and brings happiness, protects against people who wish to do evil and their evil deeds. My goal and idea is to reveal the natural beauty of amber so that this stone is as painless, dehydrated, polished and polished as possible. It is a symbol of Lithuanian culture, a living and very precious mineral. Therefore, it is important to preserve its natural beauty, not damage its essence “, said the producer about its work and perception of aesthetics.

She revealed that the family also had to taste the bread of the emigrants: they had worked and lived in Ireland for many years. However, as soon as they decided to return to their homeland, they had no doubts that they could live elsewhere, not Viduklė. Here Živil was born, grew up, met her husband at school dances.

“When we returned to Lithuania, we joined the husband’s parents and later, after knowing all the pros and cons, we decided to stay in our hometown. Viduklė – which is not that far from the big cities of Kaunas, Vilnius, but there is much more nature in it, there are no traffic jams, there is a lot of space and opportunities to create and be interested in performing here too, ”- the woman from business was proud to live in her hometown. He was happy that his works could contribute to the popularization of Lithuanian gold, he managed to show that amber can be modern, contemporary and very close to our culture, and at the same time a living stone.