Most people would agree that hair appointments come with welcome down time: time to read, time to talk, and for many, time to nap.
Not so for Nikki Rizaoglu, a staffer at Persona Fine Jewelry, the boutique jewelry store at 51 Charles Street who turned a noontime appointment a few years ago into more of a working lunch. Her boss and store owner, Gary Shteyman, remembers the day clearly. “She [Nikki] went to the hair salon for a typical visit. She became fascinated with the way Alana [one of the attendants] was talking to customers and how she presented herself. [Nikki] returned and said, ‘we need to hire her.’”
Gary said sure. And Alana quickly agreed. “I got an offer from my colleague, and just agreed on that,” she says today with a smile.
Almost four years on, the foreign-born trio is still together, a tightly knit tribe of dedicated professionals, whose emphasis on customization and service shine as brilliantly as the various gems that grace their many sales cases. They may have come to the United States for different reasons – Gary says, “freedom and the American dream,” Alana, points to a fiancé, and Nikki, to move on from a changing political environment in Turkey – but they are now united in their affection for their work, their team, and especially their customers and colleagues on Beacon Hill.
Alana [Polazenko] mans the front of the store, greeting customers with a warm smile and refined continental accent. “I work most closely with the client throughout the whole sales process,” she explains. “From the first idea to the final piece. For me, it’s very interesting.” While she lacks the formal industry training of her colleagues – she sold clothing at retail for years – she has clearly learned on the job, answering questions on each piece and listening carefully to clients’ comments and requests. “”We say everything is possible for the customer. Everything,” she beams with pride. “What makes us different from other stores is our personal approach to the clients,” she adds. It can be a time-consuming process but her patience and understanding clearly make it an enjoyable one. “What do we do? We listen. This is how to build trust — and to see the story behind it is very important. This is a serious purchase. It’s not just an accessory. They need to have time to make that decision.” She should know. Her favorite piece in the store is the engagement ring on her finger, one that Gary designed especially for her.
Nikki agrees, citing the level of personal attention the store staff provides. “Earlier in my career, I worked more in environments focused on larger-scale production, while here every piece feels personal and every client has their own story.” She credits Gary for setting that tone and that standard. “What makes Persona special to me is Gary. His personal approach to every client, the way he truly loves his work, and how deeply he cares about every detail. Jewelry is very emotional for people, especially when it comes to family heirlooms” she says. “Clients often come to us with pieces connected to generations of their family, and I think Gary treats those pieces with a great deal of respect and care.”
Customers might not even be aware of Gary when they first step into the store. But he is not far away, tucked inside a small, elevated workspace at the back of the store. He can see all the comings and goings from there but, more often than not, is head down, focused on developing a new setting or refashioning an existing piece as the store’s lead designer. “Sometimes if it doesn’t come out of me right away, I let it sit,” he says. “I prefer to be in the flow. If I’m in the flow, everybody’s going to enjoy the design.”
Gary came to Boston with his parents at the age of fifteen from Belarus, hoping for a better life. He graduated from Sharon High School and considered an offer from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) for architecture but chose to defer for a year. Yet another year went by, but by that point, his mind was made up. Jewelry would be his craft of choice (he had apprenticed with extended family in the Newton area for years). “I will find a way to make it happen,” he said to himself. His hard work paid off. By 2004, he had secured a sales space and launched Persona as a boutique inside the Hotel Commonwealth. Soon, he had multiple sites and, thanks to a particular sale to a particular unnamed football player – and then word of mouth – became known as “unofficial jeweler for the Patriots.” [Jostens was, in fact, designated to design the team’s Super Bowl rings in 2019.]
“You can’t learn the design,” he says today. “You either have it or you don’t,” he adds, without ego. But what a particular Persona design may ultimately look like is very much up to the customer. “Aesthetically I don’t dictate,” he stresses. “I think everybody’s an individual and they need to present their own views. I’m just helping. That’s all.” Inspiration for Gary is everywhere, from a stone, a phrase. “Many different things.” And it infuses not just the pieces he crafts but how the store is arrayed as well. “Everything is important to human eye,” he declares, and it is obvious wherever one looks in the showroom.
Like her boss, Nikki, the store’s behind-the-scenes administrator, came to Boston through Russia but in her case, by way of Istanbul where she was born and lived briefly after 10 years in Moscow. She is still shy about her English. “My pronunciation is not very good yet,” she claims. “Even though I speak three languages fluently, English has been the most difficult one for me.” Protestations notwithstanding, she could not be more facile than when writing about her trade and being part of Beacon Hill.
“What do I love about my work?” she parrots in answering a recent question. “Honestly, everything,” she says with a sigh.
“Working on Beacon Hill is truly special,” Nikki says. “Being in such a historic neighborhood, right in the heart of Boston, is inspiring on its own. There is also such a wonderful community here.” Her colleagues feel much the same. Alana sounds nostalgic when she likens the area to her home country. “Beacon Hill has this European style. It reminds me of Ukraine a lot. That’s why I actually love to be here and work here.” She emphasizes the neighborhood’s “strong sense of community and character.” “Here, people really value quality and craftsmanship,” she says.
Gary refers to Beacon Hill ” a small little town within the city.” “It’s so friendly and welcoming. It makes me want to be a part of it always.” He calls Charles Street Supply his backyard, going on to describe how the crew there helped him deliver and install his new sales cabinets recently without ever being asked. “When my cases arrived from Hong Kong, Jack and Chase and James were the first ones to come and say, ‘can we help you?’ Without me asking. I’ll never forget.” He pauses, reflecting before going on. “I am so grateful to have neighbors like them. And believe me, everybody’s like that here.” Nikki, too, is a frequent visitor to the hardware store across the street, but for very different reasons. “I’m constantly stopping by Charles Street Supply for duplicate keys,” she writes, “which my daughter somehow keeps losing!”
Every team member at Persona strikes the same note of affection and enthusiasm when talking about their colleagues. “There are only three of us at Persona,” Nikki notes, “but I think that’s part of what makes the atmosphere so warm and personal. Each of us has our own role, and we really rely on and support each other every day. Working in a small team also teaches you patience, communication, and attention to detail.” Gary is more to the point when he talks about their camaraderie and what they have built together. “This is perfection,” he says with satisfaction. “It’s perfect.”