Once a week during the pandemic, we’re checking in on members of the jewelry trade in an attempt to glean shareable tips and tricks for doing business—and living as well as possible—during the COVID-19 crisis.

Today we hear from fine jewelry designer Moritz Glik, who’s well-known in the industry and among jewelry lovers for his Shaker pieces that feature loose gemstones trapped and tumbling around inside innovative designs.

JCK: Where are you based right now, and where are you from?

Moritz Glik: I’m originally from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, but have been living in New York City since 1991.

How has the COVID pandemic changed your life, and how are you managing life in the pandemic?

I’m a homebody person, and if I’m not working I spend a lot of time at home. I believe that my personality helped me to cope with the lockdown in that sense. I missed meeting friends, of course, and especially missed the frenetic vibe of New York City. Whoever really knows New York understands how devastating it can be seeing the city completely closed, empty. Thankfully the city is now coming back to life and I’m proud to see that happening.

How has COVID changed or altered your business?

Like all other businesses, we had to close our office for a while. As a consequence of that, our new collection, Apura, ended up being launched two months after its original schedule. However, once we launched, the reception was amazing, thankfully. Since the lockdown was lifted, we have been working a lot. We recently moved to a new studio and hired new staff, so things have been challenging but also very exciting.

Have there been any silver linings during this tricky time for you?   

I believe the whole pandemic scenario helped me to slow down a little. We get so used to working and pushing more and more all the time that we forget to breathe sometimes. It’s been a year of uncertainty, but I’m enjoying this new rhythm, this new balance that I found. I have also started biking to work, which has been incredibly pleasant.

How is business now? 

Business is now similar to last year, and one of the reasons we are able to keep up, I believe, is that luxury consumers ended up spending less on travel and everyday shopping and redirected this budget to more expensive purchases, such as jewelry.

I also believe that jewelry can be a very emotional token, something people look for in emotionally charged moments, as the pandemic has been. We are also doing more direct-to-consumer sales online, which is exciting for us. I’m very glad that we had launched our e-commerce platform in October last year, so when the pandemic hit, we were ready to react quickly.

Has the pandemic changed how you’ll be moving forward in your business?

The pandemic has certainly accelerated the development of our digital business. We started paying more attention to our photography, editorial content, and overall information about every style of the collection, [along with] metrics. This is helping us a lot in other areas of the business as well. With more business intelligence at hand, we are able to make more assertive decisions and provide more support to our retail partners.

Tell me about your new studio!

Our new studio is great! After six months of construction, it was a relief to move in last February. The pandemic slowed down the conclusion of final details but we are 95% done now. I’m very happy with the way things came out. The location is superb and we are now booking private appointments, with COVID-19 protocols in place, of course.

It’s really interesting being able to provide the behind-the-scenes experience to our clients. Our manufacturing shop and showroom area are divided by a glass wall so they can play with the jewelry while seeing how it’s made.

What have you been doing to relax and have fun during this time?

I think I have been doing the same as most people: a lot of Netflix and wine. I’m also using all this time at home to work on a new home accessory line that should come out next year.

Have any book/podcast/TV/movie recommendations?

I have watched so many shows recently that it became hard to think of just one. I binge-watched The Crown, and I absolutely love it. I have also been listening to all the CoutureTalks [the education series from the Couture show] and learning a lot from my colleagues and other industry experts.

Top photo: Designer Moritz Glik at the bench (all photos courtesy of Moritz Glik)

Follow Emili Vesilind on Instagram: @emilivesilind