ABOUT CONCEPT

Maria Gulavskaya is a designer, jeweller and founder of the MABYMA brand.

Well, that is me. I studied psychology at Moscow State University, and then many years later, after passing artistic entrance exams, I discovered myself studying Jewellery design, Silver- and Goldsmithing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

The only fixed piece of my biography is this, and everything else will be changing.

WARNING: TOO MUCH TEXT

“Ma” (間)

The name MABYMA comes from “Ma” by Maria. In Japanese, the philosophical concept of “Ma” refers to the space between objects, an interval, opening, or silence. You can imagine “Ma” as a space between the walls of a room, or a musical pause, a void between two sounds.

As a jeweller, I consider myself working with the space between a person’s inner world and the external world. To me, jewellery is like a door that allows your inner light to shine through. So, actually, I am a specialist in making doors.

SECRETS

Things that don’t lie on the surface and don’t catch your eye. I call them secrets. A slight movement, a hidden stone, an unexpected detail — those are the secrets of my jewellery pieces. These hidden features encourage you to pause and create a moment of silence and attentiveness. And this pause invites you to notice precious things about yourself and your surroundings.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

It is that special moment when you hear your inner self. It can feel like a vibration in response to something — a movie, a mountain view, a person, a captivating piece of art, a book, a fabric, or a jewel. It’s when, for some reason, you keep thinking about it and feeling it the next day, week, month, or year.

I believe that purchases should be made when you feel this inner vibration.

QUALITY

I shaped my understanding of quality when I started making my first money. I didn’t want to spend it on some random stuff. I’ve always been drawn to items with a concept and history behind them, where people have taken the time to develop the idea, choose high-quality materials, and pay attention to the smallest details.

My jewellery embraces this notion because everything matters to me: story, composition, weight, touch, feeling, smell, temperature, shape, density, surface finish, colour, and fit — this list has no limit.

ENGLISH HUMOUR

I identify it as a type of humour which has self-irony mixed with aristocracy and sarcasm. I believe that humour helps us survive in this world, which is why I use many references to it in my designs.

SMARTNESS

It’s when you manage to talk about complex phenomena or create them using the fewest words and elements and strive for the most effective solutions. Smartness is my goal in every design. That doesn’t mean I’m smart.

ESSENCE

You cut off all the unnecessary things that don’t work for you anymore, listen carefully to yourself — and achieve what you want. To get there as a jeweller, I always question myself, “What was Michelangelo doing when he started working with a new raw piece of marble?”

NO LIES

I can not lie. It is my curse. If I lie, it is immediately revealed. My face turns red, or the truth slips out of my mouth. A lie just can’t stay inside me. It is something alien that wants to get out.

For instance, I can’t say, “Wow, I like it” when I don’t, or tell someone, “It fits you, you look gorgeous!” when it doesn’t, or persuade you “Yep, you need it” when you don’t. That is it, I am doomed to live an honest life.

HYPER CURIOSITY

In a new place, I always want to take the furthest, narrowest hidden street because you never know what awaits you there. That’s why I'm never short of new designs and ideas — there is an unlimited number of hidden “streets” in this world.