Interviews
More Than Just an Accessory – Rasa Vil’s Story of Embellished Art
Jemima Hunter
June 8, 2021
Lithuanian born and raised entrepreneur Rasa Vil , scores up to 16K followers on Instagram
with her inventive couture jewellery and wearable art. Now collaborating with other
designers whilst adjusting accessory norms, Vil aims to inspire artists worldwide and
demonstrate that taking the time to explore your long-life aspirations, certainly pays off.
The thirty-three-year-old funky jewellery designer always aspired to be a part of the creative
industry, attending the School of Art in her hometown and later joining the Academy of Fine
Arts. ‘At 21, during my bachelor studies, I found my passion for beads and crafting
jewellery.’
Originally a painter, Vil reclassified herself by working with wearable art, after a high school
friend of hers started experimenting with crafted jewellery. She followed the Soutache
technique by weaving decorative thread around two parallel cords to create a herringbone
pattern. ‘This was the inspiration behind the beginning of my new passion of colourful
beads world.’
Vil is widely known for her extravagant, high- fashion head pieces, which took many years to
master. ‘I think it was 2015 when I created my first headpiece, which was very simple and
light. And day by day I improved my ideas and skills to make headpieces and masks.’
Depending on the colour scheme and shape, it usually takes Vil about ten to twelve hours a
day to produce the wearable art, but can sometimes take up to two months to engineer the
intricate details.
‘Inspirational is everywhere’
Vil mentioned that when constructing her bespoke pieces, she prefers to let her creations
run wild with fabrics and stitching, without doing any 2D sketches beforehand. ‘I am in love,
to create in process is to be surprised by the result.’ With little knowledge about starting a
business, Vil began her entrepreneurial mission on Etsy, where sales quickly took off as she
gained more exposure ‘a few years later I found Instagram and started to work on social
media’ exclaimed the designer.
‘I didn’t focus a lot on business, I just created and did what I wanted to do’
At first, lockdown appeared to put pressure on Vil’s business, but with a foundation of loyal
customers and close relatives, she has a promising future in the industry. ‘Sales previously
dropped by 75%, but I am very grateful to my wonderful customers who have supported me
in this difficult time and to the parents who support me during all these years of creation. I
do have very strong support from my family.’
Due to a confidentiality agreement, Vil cannot ,unfortunately , disclose her next steps in the
industry, but hints at a worldwide establishment. The essential advice Vil offers to aspiring
creatives is to ‘Keep going and do your best to be what you like the most. I think this is most
important to find your way to live, create and do business.
Be unique, be yourself and the most important be addicted to your passion.’
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