About ONA from the begining...

I think everybody have stories to tell to others, and so have I. I´m Alejandra, an argentinian Architect living and working in Mikkeli, Finland since 2007. Everybody would probably think that I work in my profession, and in fact I do, but not planning and putting up buildings: I design and produce, side by side with my daughter Rosario,  Fashion Jewelry. How is this? Well, for first instance when I arrived to Finland, although I came to work as Project Manager for a finnish Company, something was missing in my desire to create and share with others the result of my "creative side". This is definitely a professional addiction, and I´m totally convinced that professions are giving us, first, a particular point of view of the World and the Universe, and second, skills and tools to be applied in different fields.

In my seeking of where and how to develope this "creative hunger", I found aparently as a casuality -they never are- the opportunity of designing and making with my own hands, jewelry. The most surprising thing is that I had never made jewelry before! I remember now my first necklace, made with small pearls and natural stone beads, threaded with a stainless steel wire I found somewhere. I felt so happy about the result and about discovering how much I liked to do it. Then, the second, the third and more different styles came. I was feeding my "creative hunger", discovering this new capability I have, but not yet thinking in selling my small creations, and far less in developing a real business.

The next step was to improve my skills as jewelry maker, looking for information and tutorials about materials, techniques, fashion trends, and also history. Wow! This was a real universe to discover, and I was absolutely passionate about it. I was starting to take my new hobby very seriously! I was so amazed that I launched my tiny production showing it to my friends and people around me. The feedback was so positive that I started to think and believe that this could be a real opportunity to transform this hobby, in my way of living. This way I would have the chance to share my creations with many more people, and also to work seriously in something I really enjoyed.

Step by step, with a lot of efforts, hopes and dreams we were soon able to build a company and to supply more than 100 companies and private shops in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Australia and Argentina. ONA  has grown, thanks to the always positive feedback of our customers. Now the production of our own designs is outsourced in diferent countries, looking for ensuring the best quality, the compliance with European standards of safety, eco-friendly processes and ensuring that in the development of our products there is no child labor exploitation, as our basic values ​​and principles of conduct.

My daughter Rosario, who lives and works in Argentina, is Interior Designer.  She has  been always fascinated about creating her own jewelry and accesories, and to be fair, she is really talented and has the energy and enthusiasm of the youth. We  share  the passion for the design, and we are really happy working together. The 14000 kilometers distance that are separating us, are not an obstacle to be in touch every day, thanks to the support of the internet technologies.  She is in charge of our institutional image,  ONA´s facebook page and  most of our styles are her own creations.

This publication is ONA´s blog "kick of". Our aim is to embrace the advantages of the "cyber space" to show our products, tell our stories, get your feedback and also follow those blogs that could be a nurrishment for us.

We will come back soon!

Alejandra & Rosario