Jewelry by Varvara & Galina Barsky by Sigrid Wynne-Evans

Varvara and Galina Barsky are two long time friends whose friendship and partnership cross many miles and different cultures. Both have endured hardships and changes that only we can imagine, and have come out all the stronger for it. Courage and determination seem to be a driving force for both of these remarkable women.

Galina and Varvara both grew up in Moscow, Russia. They attended the same school, and lived in the same apartment building while growing up. And later, they entered different Universities. Varvara attended Moscow University of Electronics, and Galina attended Moscow University of Oil and Gas.

Varvara married young, at 19 and had her first child. But the marriage was short lived. After getting her Engineering degree, she got a job designing engines. Considering that she came from an extraordinarily artistic family, she was an oddity. Her father is a successful jeweler, a member of the Russian Guild of Artists, and his work has been exhibited throughout Russia. She has an aunt that is a remarkable rug weaver, and every other member of the family is involved in the arts in some fashion.

With so much art in her blood, it wasn't long before Varvara felt the pull into the arts. She lost her job as an engineer, and being a single mom, she had to find something to do to support herself and her daughter. She had several jobs such as being a sales person, accountant, secretary and even tried to start her own business. Sadly, she lost all the money she had.

Then, her fortune began to turn. She met her second husband, and had two more children. Her husband's salary was enough to support the family, and all seemed well and good, until he lost his job.

As it turned out, as Varvara says, the luckiest day of her life was when she saw an ad in the newspaper for a beading class. The ad also guaranteed a job after a 6 day class! So, Varvara signed up. Beading wasn't as easy as she thought. It took her three days to finish her first necklace.

Once the class was finished, the promised job never came to be. Varvara began to sell her jewelry. She was hooked on the art. Selling locally helped, but it wasn't enough for her. This is where Galina helped her.

Galina had since immigrated to the US as a result of the Russian political climate. Being Jewish, she and her family qualified under a refugee status, and were able to move to the US.

Galina helped Varvara sell her jewelry on eBay, and also created Varvara's web site. Galina helped Varvara publish her first book. Seems like the two women work very well together, even though they are so far apart!

Varvara's 1st book "Coraling Technique",
is available from Varvara or Crafting-Books.com.

Varvara says that things are much better for her now, thanks to her web site, and Galina's help. In Russia, it is possible to live well on $1,000 per month. For this, Varvara works very hard, working 10 hour days 7 days a week. But at least she loves what she does.

Varvara lives modestly. She lives in a very small 1 bedroom apartment with her family. She dreams of having a room dedicated to beading, since she keeps all her beads in the kitchen cupboards and on the kitchen table. The only computer program she uses is Corel Draw, and then only to create the diagrams for her patterns. Otherwise, she designs by doing. Varvara says the sometimes she is lucky enough to "get a vision of the whole necklace", but most of the time, she just gets out her beads and starts playing with them.

Sampling of Varvara's Designs:
Click on an image to view the pattern.
         

As organic as Varvara's approach to beadwork is, Galina's approach is technical. In fact, Galina does not bead at all! Galina started designing after translating Varvara's patterns into English. From the diagrams, and many translations, Galina learned about the process. She may well be called a "beadwork theorist". Perhaps it is her analytical mind, since she was a computer programmer that draws her to designing, or maybe it is the same love of beauty, it is hard to say. It is kind of like the chicken and the egg question.

Sampling of Galina's Designs:
Click on an image to view the pattern.
         

Nonetheless, Galina enjoys designing and Varvara beads up her designs. Galina says that in the beginning, Varvara had to do some corrections to Galina's designs in order to make them flow correctly. Having learned from some of her early mistakes, Varvara beads Galina's designs without a hitch.

Two friends, two countries, two different approaches. But it all seems to work. For Varvara, her dreams include being able to work with a clothing designer. She has ideas of clothing which incorporates beadwork (not just embroidery). For Galina, she will be helping Varvara with her second book. It is certain that both of these women have a friendship, a business partnership and a joy of beadwork that will last a life time.

Varvara and Galina have just completed Varvara's 2nd book,
it is available from Varvara or Crafting-Books.com.