We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Parissa Chubak a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Parissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.
I became a jewelry designer late in my professional life. I was a banker, an oil & gas and a power developper most of my professional life. Jewelry was always a passion for me. I always liked to change the design of my existing jewelry.
I had re-designed a necklace with rubies and gold. At a party, a lady I met for the first time asked about my necklace and when she heard my story, put her trust in me to make a similar necklace for her. She was my first customer
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Jewelry is my passion and it has always been since childhood. It was a hobby re-designing my existing jewelry and using parts of one necklace and mix it with another one!
My father passed away 6 years ago and I decided to dedicate myself full time to jewelry design.
I was lucky to have an existing customer base who bought few pieces from me. I started looking for manufacturers to help keep my cost down and provide quality at affordable prices to my clients.
I source all my material including the gemstones. I design and have it manufactured. I aim to create unique pieces that are exclusive. I use various marketing platforms to increase my client base.
I am very lucky as I have many repeat customers. I provide an after sale service as well. I stand by my jewelry and provide repairs if needed.
Most of my clients love to design with me. It is a very fun process where I get to know them and we create a piece of jewelry they love and wear
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My father’s passing six years ago was the turning point in my professional career. I am the only child and both my parents needed care taking.
I needed to have a steady income and flexibility to be able to spend time with them and provide care.
After my father passed away six years ago ( my mom passed away 15 years ago), I was able to re-think my career.
I have a loving supporting husband who has encouraged me to start my full time jewelry design. I love every second of what I do for a living
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Competition is fierce in my line of work! I had to attract my clients by word of mouth and be a one woman show in all aspects of the business.
I know that none of us are good at everything and it takes a village to make a business successful. I had to be creative and work on all aspects of the business on my own. It has been a huge challenge and I need to learn everyday and improvise.
The learning curb is very steep but I love the challenge. Covid was a detriment to my business as the four stores selling my jewelry closed for good. I had to refocus and rebrand to be able to sell online.
This is an ongoing process. I am learning everyday
Contact Info:
- Website: Parissachubak.com
- Instagram: @parissachubak
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JewelryByParissa