“I had a previous life,” — this is how the main character of our article and the founder of the Georgian brand, Wine Diamond, Tamar Abuladze, begins the conversation.
Have you heard of wine stones? These are potassium salts of wine acid, which are released when the temperature drops and remain on the dishes in the form of crystals. The stones of different colors are mostly of a loose consistency and remind you of sugar or salt. However, the shiny crystals may also evoke associations with diamonds. It was this idea that made Tamar Abuladze decide to start an entrepreneurial activity, establish a Georgian brand and introduce it to the European market; in the implementation of the latter, she was helped by EU4Digital — an EU-funded project that supports the development of Georgian entrepreneurs.
Wine Diamond — this is the name of the Georgian brand, which Tamar founded in 2021. However, the desire to become an entrepreneur arose much earlier, after her “previous life,” when Tamar finished a 20-year career in one of the large corporations and, as a way of escape, first started making jewelry from natural stones, and then started studying at a wine school. It was then that she learned about wine stones and decided to combine her new interests: why couldn’t she make jewelry from wine stones?
“What nonsense, it’s out of the question, it won’t work out, that’s how the winemakers reacted when I told them about my intention and asked for wine stones,” Tamar recalls. “Then my main goal was to convince them that I would carry out my plan.”
Thus, the founder of an innovative Georgian brand discovered that the practice of making jewelry from wine stones had not existed before, and achieving her goal was not an easy mission.
A Thousand Attempts and the First Success
Creating jewelry from wine stones is quite difficult, requiring great attention and meticulous adherence to the manufacturing method; the wine stone in the jewelry should not lose its authentic appearance, color and structure. At the same time, it should be attractive, practical and durable, like a real piece of jewelry. That is why it took Tamar many attempts to bring her idea to fruition, however, she finally found the manufacturing technique, which is now her exclusive and secret property.
"It may sound harsh, but at that time one of my main motivators was the story of Thomas Edison. After all, it took him thousands of unsuccessful attempts to light the light bulb," says the founder of Wine Diamond, "and how could something not come out of it in the 21st century, in the era of modern technologies?!".
Thus began a long and laborious process that Tamar still leads alone; to work, she needs to strain her mind along with her eyesight and fully concentrate on the task at hand. That is why Wine Diamond products are usually created late at night, under bright lights and in complete silence.
It was also of great importance that Tamar’s passion and enthusiasm were fully shared by her husband. When you are pursuing innovation, family support is crucial, the already experienced entrepreneur tells us.
Encouraged by Edison’s biography, the words of her partner, and modern opportunities, Tamar truly achieved her goal and completed her first piece of jewelry made of wine stone in 2021. Thus was born a new Georgian brand, the purpose of which is not only to produce jewelry products — Wine Diamond jewelry has a special meaning.
"My goal was to create a piece of jewelry that would last for years," Tamar notes. "I wanted this piece of jewelry to continue a family tradition: for example, the piece of jewelry from the 2020 harvest was passed down from grandmother to granddaughter decades later. That is why my brand's slogan is "The Immortality of Wine." The immortal tradition of winemaking is the cornerstone that gives Tamar's brand its Georgian character and a completely different depth.
8,000-year-old history in jewelry
For some time now, Georgia has proudly been called the homeland of wine. Wine is an integral part of Georgian identity: the country has 525 endemic grape varieties and the ancient winemaking technique, the qvevri, which is included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
One of the main goals of Wine Diamond was to present all this, especially to foreign consumers. My brand is also part of an 8,000-year-old tradition, says Tamar.
"This brand was created by me, but I feel that it does not belong only to me. It is part of the treasure of my country."
Tamar Abuladze, founder of Wine Diamond
It is also interesting that for so many millennia, the idea of making jewelry from wine crystals has not arisen. However, in implementing this innovative idea, Tamar also relies on traditions and selects the raw materials for making jewelry with great care.
"You may have heard that Georgians have always had the custom of asking who made it before tasting someone else's wine," Tamar says with a smile. "This is significant, because wine is a living organism; the energy and emotions of the person who works on it are transferred into the wine. That is why I source raw materials from winemakers with outstanding personal qualities."
To emphasize the close connection with the national cause, all Wine Diamond products come with a kind of passport, which contains information about both the brand and the centuries-old traditions of Georgia. This is precisely what makes it the best "ambassador" of our country on the European market - where Wine Diamond will appear very soon.
Wine's path to the European market
Like all modern brands, Wine Diamond soon had a desire and need to export. Tamar had previously been involved in an EU project, which also included an exchange program.
"As part of the exchange program, we had business meetings with potential partners in Italy for a month, which gave me great experience and greatly increased my brand," recalls Tamar, "Later, I was also invited to speak in Brussels as one of the successful participants in the project."
Initially, Tamar chose the Etsy platform for online commerce, but her attempts were limited to creating an account. However, the Georgian entrepreneur soon learned about the EU project EU4Digital from a friend and decided to join the e-commerce consulting center program.
The appearance of EU4Digital turned out to be very timely for Wine Diamond. The EU project’s e-commerce advisory center, which has been operating since 2021, has already helped several Georgian brands enter the European market. However, since Wine Diamond does not yet have a physical store, developing online commerce was particularly important for it.
“Many interesting things happened within the framework of the program, but the personal consultations were very useful for me, when I met with experts in the field and received advice and recommendations directly related to my brand,” says Tamar.
The Georgian entrepreneur also gratefully recalls her mentor, Benjamin Koblik, who sent Tamar a five-page list of recommendations. Following this advice, Wine Diamond will soon be properly represented on the European market.
"Since Etsy was her priority, Tamar consulted with an expert who knows the platform well. She received advice from him on which products to focus on, how to create appropriate descriptions and photos for them," notes EU4Digital expert Valeria Kuznyatsova. "In addition, Tamar received consultations on digital marketing. She learned that the product she created is very distinctive and unique, therefore, it is necessary to explain to the consumer what [Wine Diamond] is and why they should buy it."
"Find out what interests you" — advice for budding entrepreneurs
Tamar, who returned from EU4Digital consultations, has big plans. Along with the development of e-commerce, she will soon open the first showroom, which will unite all four of her brands: in addition to Wine Diamond, the products of Emotion, Wine Emotion and Marila will be presented here. In addition to taking care of the customer, Tamar wants to especially delight her future employees, so she is actively working on creating an interesting working environment for them.
"I want my employees to feel that they are serving a great cause; that they are not, for example, just a salesperson or a label maker, but are doing work that no one has done before," says Tamar. "I want my employees to be happy."
Tamar also remembers the fact that employee happiness is a priority "from her previous life." She says that when starting her own business, the experience and connections she gained in the corporate sphere are also very useful. In addition, she has other advice for novice entrepreneurs.
"First of all, be alone with yourself and understand what you are interested in doing," Tamar notes. "When you love your work, the customer will definitely accept it. Secondly, it is necessary to acquire the necessary knowledge, which is provided by the EU's multilateral projects.
"With all this, it is necessary not to look to the side for a while and focus only on the future, on your goal. If something does not work out, do not think that the idea is bad, you may simply be approaching it in the wrong way. Change your path, gain more knowledge, but never give up." Tamar adds that the biggest danger at the initial stage is giving up, and the reason for this can be the gossip and gossip of people close to you. That is why she advises novice entrepreneurs to get acquainted with the stories of already successful and experienced people - at first, Edison's biography is enough, she adds with a smile.
Source: on.ge
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