1. How is Carmen – the woman in the mirror?

I am a woman who loves life and adores to create. To create is a way of life for me, it brings me happiness and fulfillment.

I am what I want to be every day, sometimes changing from day to day, but with the same goal and pride no matter the mood: to leave something behind me.  I behave protectively in my family, but also in my professional life.  I have two arms that have to build and maintain both the tradition and the value of things in order to ensure continuity.

I am not a woman who wants to show off through feminist ideas, but through femininity.

I believe in creative intelligence in any field and in creativity as a form of intelligence.

2. Carmen, why do you think that only some people are successful?

Success comes from desire and determination, from everyone’s faith in what they do, from persevering work, as the saying goes: let your dream shine! Only some people are successful because they are the ones who have the necessary qualities.

3. What pieces of advice would you have liked to get at the beginning of your career and from whom?

 I would have appreciated some pieces of advice from Coco Chanel.

4. Do you have a role model? If so, how did (s)he influence your business?

I do not have one in particular, but the modern woman is indeed a very good model. I like and I don’t like her at the same time, depending on the moment of my day. J) Women have been able to turn their conversations into real jobs.

Overall, women have been able to turn their hobby, their guilty pleasure into a billion-dollar business, widely spread and valued worldwide: to speak, to gossip and to wear clothes.

A pretty significant achievement, don’t you think? The woman of today keeps me going.

5. Is it important to have a role model in business?

Of course it’s important to have a role model both in business and in life.  Things must inspire you in order to build you, because only so will the world evolve to the next stage. But everything up to a point – let’s not forget the personal mark.

6. How is a regular day in your life?

My day begins the first time at 12.00 in the night, after the children have fallen asleep. It is the moment when I manage to pant for breath and to gather my energy left after a full day, in order to detail the next day; my husband is a good listener, being one of my great supporters.

I spend most of my time in the studio where I work directly with the prototyping team or in front of the computer among the new designs or with the sales team. I like to leave my mark directly on my jewelry – I paint on crystals and I am very pleased to be the first to test the new materials.

In the evening at 6pm I try to take a break and spend two hours with my girls outside, now that we are on vacation. During school time I am constantly on the rush to violin or ballet classes with my older daughter.

7. Where did the attraction for making jewelry come from?

I accepted a proposal that came from a Swiss fashion company who knew my artistic and entrepreneurial background.

That’s how I became a project manager and I made the startup on the jewelry.I just felt attracted to the challenge of doing something new.

I had just become a mother, I had temporarily moved from Bucharest, I was feeling that everything was like a new beginning and so it was.

The beginning of discovering a beautiful trip into my current world J, a world I felt very attracted to from the start, a world in which I feel very comfortable and that seemed to suit me perfectly.

I first started designing, and then I launched the first line of jewelry alternatively with my own production in the same year.

8. What is Joomay for you now? 

Joomay is my child who was made, not born, but who is as terrible as my other children.

9. You have recently returned from London, where you took part in Pure London. How do young Romanian designers come to exhibit their collections at an international event?

International events have very diverse proposals and they are not just for business; they are real sources for launching brands or products as well.

For Joomay, for example, an important event was last year’s World Jewelry Facets 2016, a visual feast with Swarovski’s world-class array of creative jewelry actions around the world.JOOMAY was named “Best in Show” in Shanghai, then exhibited in Paris and Munich, and after that the exhibited pieces were added to the Swarovski Museum in Wattens.

There are options to go with private financial support, with funding from the Romanian state, or as a guest. We have often been invited as gusets to such events, precisely for the quality of our design and products, but we have also turned to other variants, of course, for fairs in particular.

I think the state should be much more connected to the private environment and thus there could be big benefits for both parties.

10. If Joomay were a person, how would you describe her?

Joomay is a person – it embodies what I like to call the “Joomay woman” J

The “Joomay woman” is full of life, color and enthusiasm, a sensual woman who draws attention on her in a very natural way.  She has a very well-defined personal touch – she differs from the other women through the intelligence of combining a fresh look with a design that pulls it out of anonymity.

She is the kind of woman who makes people turn their heads as she simply goes on a busy street on her way to the office, to a meeting, or just to take the kids from school.

She is easy to remember and very hard to forget.

The JOOMAY woman cannot be defined by a trend, by a fashion statement, or by an artistic vision. Her approach is based on her rapid adaptability to the new, combined with an innovative vision of the world. 

11. How would you describe the Joomay collection in a sentence or in 3 words?

Joy by Joomay compliments your personality.

       12.If you were a book – how would your cover look like?

If I were a book I’d have some transparent covers.

13. Now it is your turn to ask me a question! What would you like to know about me?

What is the accessory in your “dream” that you would never give up?

Thank you!