Clirium’s Magazine · Issue 13 · 10.2026 · Member Story

Anna Perepelkina: “Everything I Have, I Made With My Own Hands”

Anna Perepelkina on leaving a steady job for the unknown, learning to work with her hands, and building her brand SPAGIRY with no workshop and no team

Featured: Anna Perepelkina — Founder of SPAGIRY · Handmade goods · CLIRIUM® ME member. Published: . Reading time: 8 min. Story and interview by Victory Naydenova.

Topics: Member Story, Own Business, Creativity & Fulfillment

Clirium’s Magazine cover No. 13 — Anna Perepelkina

I usually write this introduction as an editor—from the outside. This time I can’t. Anna is my sister, and I didn’t watch her path through stories or polished photos on social media. I watched it from the very beginning, from day one.

I saw her leave a steady job with no guarantees and no safety net. I saw the sleepless nights. I saw the stretches when there were no orders at all, when from the outside it looked like she could just close it all down and go back to a regular job. Her capacity for work and her inner strength still amaze me: she will keep working on a single piece for as long as it takes to get it to the point she believes is right—and no one but her will ever know how many times it was redone.

I’m also struck by her taste and by her need to share beauty with people. It truly matters to her that the person who comes to her sees that beauty and feels it. She never cuts corners on materials; she buys the best she can find, because she can’t imagine handing someone a piece she isn’t completely sure of. I’ll admit I regularly scold her for still not charging what her work is worth, given that level of quality and care. But that’s Anna: she would rather someone open the box and find something beautiful inside than make a little extra on it.

Here are the facts. Eight years ago, Anna left a job at a private beauty salon, where she worked the front desk and was training as a brow artist and makeup artist, and started making things by hand. Today SPAGIRY offers her own fragrances, skincare, décor, and home scents—and, most recently, wall art, the work she is proudest of. She has no workshop and no team. Everything that leaves her hands, she makes herself. She even drew the brand’s logo by hand.

She doesn’t do this just to make money. She puts her whole heart into her brand, and I believe in her maybe more than anyone does. I believe that one day her work will be known far beyond the country she lives in. In this issue, what matters to me is that next to the beautiful picture, you also see the price paid for it. Here is her story.

Founder, CLIRIUM® ME · Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Clirium’s Magazine

Her Story · In Her Own Words

“I Felt I Had It in Me to Build Something Bigger”

My name is Anna, and I’m the founder of SPAGIRY, a brand that turns a home into a place of beauty and comfort. Everything I make is made by hand, with love, attention, and heart. Today SPAGIRY is my own fragrances, skincare, décor, and home scents—plus wall art, my newest and most precious passion. The paintings are what I’m proudest of. That path has only just begun, but they already hold a special place in my heart.

The road to SPAGIRY started eight years ago with a decision that wasn’t easy. Before that, my life revolved around the beauty industry: a private salon, a front-desk job, training as a brow artist and a makeup artist. But the further I went down that road, the clearer it became that it wasn’t mine. I felt I had it in me to build something bigger, and working for someone else never sat right with me.

The Hardest Part Was Stepping Into the Unknown

Back then I believed that running your own business meant constant instability and unpredictability. I was afraid of exactly what I think everyone fears at the start: What if it doesn’t work? What if no one connects with what I make, and it turns out to matter only to me? Walking away into nothing, without any guarantees, was truly frightening.

But that step is what led me back to my real self. Looking back, I can say without any doubt: it was worth it.

My Head Said, “Why Would You Do This?” My Heart Whispered, “Just Try.”

The riskiest decision I ever made was to start working with my hands. I couldn’t even imagine I was capable of making something myself. When you’ve got a fresh manicure and you’re all put together, and suddenly it’s glue, plaster, and paint—the very thought horrified me. My head said, “Are you serious? Why would you do this?” My heart whispered, “This is you. Just try.”

So I went for it, and the start was promising. I made soap and candles, felted toys, sculpted with polymer clay, made toys for kids. Then came fragrances, then skincare, then home décor and paintings. That whole path, one step at a time, brought me to where I am now.

“I Was Literally Eating Myself Alive”

Life has thrown plenty at me, but when it comes to the business, the hardest part wasn’t anything external. It was the endless inner fight with my own doubts: Am I doing this right? Do people like what I make? Am I even doing the right thing? In those stretches I was literally eating myself alive, and the tension turned physical—I had terrible back pain, because the weight of all those thoughts about everything and everyone wouldn’t leave me alone.

There was also a time I wanted to quit. I think everyone who runs their own business goes through it. Total stagnation, no orders, and the plain thought: close it down. And then the kindest people would appear, with orders so big that everything I’d talked myself into simply dissolved. They were happy, they loved everything, they were grateful for what I made for them.

Most of it is in our heads: we overthink, and we blame ourselves for things people aren’t even thinking about.

There is no such thing as complete, absolute stability in this world. Everything comes in waves, and at some point I simply accepted that. But giving up my work—giving up my soul—I couldn’t then and I can’t now. I know for sure I’m heading in the right direction. This is my path.

People See the Beautiful Picture, Not the Road Behind It

People only ever see the beautiful picture. They’ll never fully understand the road a person walks to get there. Running your own business is hard work and an endless storm of thoughts. You don’t get weekends or vacations, and even when you’re sick, you’re thinking about it—your baby. Everyone assumes, “What’s the big deal? You’re home, you don’t have a real job.” No one sees you heading to the studio in any weather and working no matter what.

Few people see what stays off camera: the mistakes, the fears, the loneliness, the work without days off—everything made by hand, from the first idea to the last piece of packaging. People see success. The price is what’s hidden behind the beautiful picture, and that price is what makes the result real.

I Finally Saw How Much I’d Built

This actually happened not long ago. I’m finishing the SPAGIRY website, and while I was going through my inventory, it suddenly hit me: how much I’ve created, and that all of it was made with my own hands. I don’t have a workshop. I don’t have a team. I did it myself.

I’d never seen the scale of it before, and then it dawned on me: I’m actually a pretty skilled girl.

And the brand is growing. In about a month, my trademark registration comes through, and SPAGIRY will be legally mine. Every detail has been thought through, from the logo I drew by hand to the products themselves.

The Ones Who Stayed Are the Ones Who Don’t Disappear

Over a lifetime, we inevitably lose people and find people. Since the very beginning of this journey, going back to my salaried days, a lot of people have left my life. They simply left. What I have now is a completely different circle—people who don’t disappear and who walk through life with me no matter what: my mom, my dad, my sister, and my boyfriend.

I’ve also rethought things. I used to think it was important to know a lot of people; to me, it meant some kind of social status. With age, I realized that on its own it means nothing. What matters are the people who are there for you in any situation.

“It’s Only Too Late When You’ve Decided It’s Over”

My biggest achievement isn’t about status. It’s personal: to be a good person, to make beautiful, useful things, and simply to live. I’ve gone from fear and doubt to confidence in what I do, and that matters more to me than numbers, titles, or outside recognition. Numbers can be faked and status can be bought, but the inner feeling of “I made it, I’m where I belong” can’t be bought at any price. That is the real achievement.

I can’t point to one single decision that changed everything. My path was made of many steps—some deliberate, some not—but each one led me to where I am now. And if you’re in a moment right now when it feels like your world has fallen apart and nothing will ever be the same, I want to tell you that this isn’t always a bad thing. Life leads us down the better road, and hard times come so that we can grow and get stronger. When you look back, you’ll see how much good came out of them.

And to the woman who is at the hardest point of her journey and thinks it’s too late to change anything, I’d say this: it’s never too late. It’s only too late when you’ve decided it’s over. If there’s even a spark left inside you, the road goes on. Start with a small step, don’t be afraid to get it wrong, and remember that everything happening to you is leading you somewhere better, even if right now it feels like the world is crumbling. Just try—you’ve got this.

Timeline · Before and After: Eight Years on Her Own

Anna Perepelkina is the founder of SPAGIRY. She handcrafts original fragrances, skincare, décor, and home scents, as well as wall art. She works alone, with no workshop and no team.

This story is based on an interview with Anna and materials she provided. It reflects her personal experience and is not a promise of any particular result.

Previous issue: No. 12 · Irina Levchenko