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Manya & Roumen Bio

Manya Tessler and Roumen Vragov created their precious jewelry collection as a labor of love—literally. When Manya, an artist/illustrator, and Roumen, a Bulgarian expatriate and infoeconomics professor, married in 2006, they wanted wedding rings that reflected their passion for art and nature.

What better way to pay tribute to their relationship than if Manya designed their wedding rings. After studying wax carving with Alan Brodsky, a leading jewelry instructor in New York City, Manya carved Roumen’s wedding ring, depicting two intertwined buffalos. Roumen contributed the buffalo concept based upon one of the most popular videos on YouTube.com.

“The video showed a baby buffalo rescued from the jaws of both a lion and a crocodile by its herd. It’s an inspirational story, one that symbolizes love, loyalty and devotion to family,” says Roumen. The successful completion of the wedding band propelled the newly weds into their jewelry making journey. Manya seized upon her talents as a sculptural illustrator and fine artist to transform her nature-inspired illustrations into intricately carved wax models. After casting them in either 18k gold or sterling silver, the wearable sculptures have diamonds and gemstones added. Each piece is then hand polished and given a subtle textured finish.

Their designs capture not just the movement, details and traits of a bird, fish or lion, but a personality, too. Although some of their animal and plant subjects are familiar from fables and fairy tales, or even astrological characters, they are open to interpretation and meaning. “Each piece tells a story, but each wearer interprets the story differently,” says Manya.

Manya, a native of Philadelphia, studied fine art with an emphasis on printmaking and illustration. She earned her MFA in illustration at School of Visual Arts, New York City. Her interest in studying and researching a wide range of fine art, such as Bernini’s baroque sculptures and traditional Japanese arts, serves as a source for her inspiration. Her artistic studies have lead Manya to visit Japan, Mexico, Rome and Montreal. Manya’s illustrations can be seen in her first children’s book, “Yuki’s Ride Home” (Bloomsbury: 2008).

Roumen, who was born in Bulgaria, studied economics and information systems and earned a PhD in economics from the University of Arizona. In addition to his day-to-day duties running the business side of Manya & Roumen, Roumen contributes ideas and concepts to the pair’s nature-inspired collaborations. He also plans to contribute his own original design to the collection in 2010 and he is currently studying CAD/CAM and metalsmithing.

Artistic Vision: Story Telling as Art

The intricately carved, limited edition jewelry that defines the artistry of Manya & Roumen harkens back to the techniques used by the best jewelry artisans. However, even more distinctive than their detailed, three-dimensional depictions of whimsical flora and fauna is the story behind each design.

Attention is paid to the details of an animal or leaf, like the perfect curve of a swan’s neck or the natural asymmetry of a crab. But the charm of the couple’s tiny treasures is their uncanny knack for bringing personality and character into their precious jewelry creations. “We feel that each character has his or her own personality,” says Manya.

“We try to capture the emotions and thoughts of the animals in our designs as well as their spirit. We hope that our admiration and adoration of the animal also shines through. Each piece has a story to tell. Some sculptural narratives originate from well-known stories like ‘The Owl and the Pussycat.’ Others seem more symbolic, such as a raven, a symbol of good luck in Korean folklore. Nonetheless, it is the conversation brought about by our jewelry that is most significant. Each wearer and viewer interprets the story behind a piece differently.”

This storytelling characteristic is a natural for Manya & Roumen, both of whom have a passion for art and nature. Manya is an illustrator who created characters for her children’s book, “Yuki's Ride Home”. Roumen, too, finds inspiration from the animal kingdom. He requested that Manya make him a wedding ring depicting buffalo because he had been touched by the familial devotion a buffalo herd displayed when they rescued a baby buffalo in a video on YouTube.