We recently connected with Bercem Ipekbayrak and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Bercem thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
Having a luxury retail background, i can’t help but think where i would’ve been right now if i hadn’t left that path. There are definitely some parts that i miss being in corporate world. Especially the line of work i was in had lots of perks like the travels, structure, social life and of course the safety we all feel having a stable income. I honestly attempted going back a few times when i struggled running a creative business because with freedom comes lots of responsibilities to keep up with and i felt really overwhelmed juggling in between creativity and administrative works i had to accomplish 24/7. With a regular job you think all of those are already taken care of so you just have to focus on your duty and the thought of that becomes really attractive when you’re alone grinding for establishing what you dream of. But when i sat on my work bench, start creating, seeing my visions coming to life, everything shifts! It feels so right to be in the journey of creating and offering those creations to people to become a part of their lives. Such a pure joy and love to be able to utilize your imagination, your soul and your hands to create pieces that speaks to someone.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve always been in an artistic&creative world starting with my mom being a sculptor. She’s always been very supportive and eager for us to be involved in arts and respect creativity! As a kid of course with the advantage of having an artist mom, little crafty projects and experimenting was a part of our daily lives. We used to spend our free times on learning new techniques, materials and just being free on our imagination. On the other hand having an engineer dad really added that part of curiosity of fixing things, solving problems and belief that there’s a solution to every problem. However i ended up in luxury retail&fashion somehow and became a Visual Merchandiser for one of the biggest global companies and lived in Dubai for several years. I’m so grateful for those years working with creative individuals and expanding my vision, figuring out who i am, my strengths and weaknesses. After a few years in the industry it came to a point that i wasn’t sure what i was doing and felt like i was living on auto pilot and that’s when i started thinking of what’s next for me, where i will feel excited and empowered again! So the childhood kicked in and started making jewelry from putting already made charms and beads together just for fun. Then the curiosity of how i can actually create my own pieces pushed me to learn metalsmithing and i just got pulled into the beauty of this amazing craft. It of course started small with people asking where i got my jewelry from then friends asking for custom pieces, it kept evolving and i kept experimenting to be better at what i do. Started working with metals such as brass, copper then stepped up to Silver and natural stones of all types. From the reactions and feedbacks i get over time i realized what i create is what speaks to your soul so my intentions in creating each piece is always infused with courage, empowerment and joy! Now i work mostly in Sterling Silver, Turquoise and Opals. Mixing different stones, playing with textures and colors is also for me a way of reflecting my roots&culture as growing up in Istanbul you’re surrounded with a very rich diversity that is hard not to be inspired by. That’s also something you can see in the name of my business. The culture, the love and power of feminine balanced with the edginess of masculinity. Bia is a Greek Goddess but also it is the name of my German Shepherd who passed away last year. She is such a pillar in my life that i can actually divide it into Before and After Bia! The love and respect i have for her is what keeps me pushing through hard times as i want to honor her and her name by creating one of a kind pieces that will add something special to your life and will be passed from generations to generations.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Being in a community of artists and creatives, i can say one of the most valuable thing for a creator is appreciation! It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there showing what you’re capable of and actually offering a piece of your identity, your life, of who you are! So receiving acknowledgment, feeling that you’re seen and heard is invaluable. I truly believe in the community over competition because we are all unique so is our talents and creations. By lifting up one another we’re actually becoming stronger and more confident creating a more sustainable and balanced society. You encourage one person meaning you’re giving hope to many.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I feel like being a creative one thing i’m very astonished by is being able to expand the imagination of others as well as mine. When i receive these incredible comments and feedbacks about my work, i could actually see the spark, the admiration and hope in those eyes! It’s like they just discovered something new, something that totally changed the way they see and think and they can see a different dimension! That is priceless. I love that i’m able to inspire and maybe even encourage a creator to take that first step of following their dreams and push them to offer their talents to us to experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.biasoulstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biasoulstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biasoulstudio
Image Credits
Felicia Garcia