Virginia Arregui has been a ceramic artist for over 15 years, initially creating designer home wares. Her recent work has concentrated on a varied range of ceramic tile paintings. These paintings have really been inspired by the amazing tile murals that Virginia has admired throughout Europe. Her work is considered a modern day version of this old world ceramic art.

Virginia is on her way to Florence, Italy soon as she is taking part in a wonderful international exhibition, ‘Cutting Edge’ Masters of Conterporary Art (1st to10th December 2012) organised by Vivid Arts Network at Auditorium al Duomo in Florence, Italy. I caught up with her in Canberra not long ago to chat about her entrepreneurial journey, challenges and love of art!

Enjoy the video.

Photography by Tom Bass

My Best Mistake

How a tight budget led to sparkling success

By Michelle Hammond Startup Smart
Friday, 16 November 2012

Building a jewellery brand with international aspirations may seem like the glamorous end of entrepreneurship, but, like any business, if you’re strapped for cash it can be difficult to maintain momentum.

For Marissa Gouras and her mother Gina Kougias, of Sydney-based jewellery label Georgini, a lack of funds meant thinking outside the square with regard to staff and operations.

“Georgini has been running for about six or seven years now,” Gouras says.

“We have over 350 retail stockists in Australia. We have around 60 in South Africa, 35 in New Zealand, 15 in the UK – we just started distributing there – and our two flagship stores.”
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