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Growing up in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, Sandimirova suffered through famine and economic collapse in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They broke multiple bones, including in their back, due to malnourishment — and spent two years paralyzed. Sandimirova came to the U.S. on a student visa in 2009. But instead of going to Maryland, as the visa dictated, they decided to stay in New York illegally — partially because of the city's large Russian population.
"Even though I had inventory of 30,000 pieces, all of them were too feminine or too masculine," Sandimirova says."I'm in the jewelry business and nothing I see, I want to wear."Sandimirova says they've built trust with their customers because of their own style and their ability to"blend femininity and masculinity."
$3.4 million by 2019, but dropped back down to $2.1 million in 2020 — the year Sandimirova decided to leave those big platforms, and close their booth at a Manhattan artists' market due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "[It] skyrocketed my business because people saw, 'Oh, you're actually sustainable and fair, not just using [diversity] to sell," Sandimirova says."I've been doing this for years."