We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lina Shatara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lina below.

Lina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Entreprenueralship is all about taking risks and believing in yourself. If I didn’t take a risk to be a full time creative 7 years ago I would never have created endless opportunities for myself or others.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Lina and I started my passion for jewelry design in 2005 when I went on a trip to India. Traveling has always inspired my art and creativity and led me to start my own design company several years later. While living in New York City, I studied jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology where I honed my skills. When moving back to the Bay Area, I noticed a need for more artist/ creative opportunites so I founded and started the Fourth Street Makers Row in Berkeley where artists could sell their products to the public in an affordable and creative environment. While I moved on to run my own showroom and design house in San Ramon, the Fourth Street Makers Row lives on giving endless opportunites to young artists. I currently design fine jewelry. I pride myself on sourcing ethical materials and producing all my work locally in the Bay Area.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

During the height of my business, we encountered the COVID -19 shutdowns. All of my work efforts had to come to an extreme hault. This taught me how to pivot and reinvent myself in the face of obstacles. In business (and life) sometimes you have to make unexpected changes in order to work with the energy at play. I went from in person sales to online sales and virtual pop-ups. Our clients were so supportive and followed up through those changes.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

We need more outlets for people/ young people to express themselves artistically as well as making sure we encourage artistic outlets.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.linashatara.com
• Instagram: @linashatara
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinaShatara/

Image Credits
Gershoni Creative Twenty Two Frames