Today we’d like to introduce you to Cvetanka Cica Perovic.
Hi Cvetanka, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It is hard to decide where one’s story begins: I will pick up my story one generation before mine – my parents grew up in a village in Eastern Europe, in houses with dirt floors, where all the furniture, linens, food and clothing were made and produced by their hands. Even the plants for the fibers from which the linens and clothing were made. The houses, in which they lived, were also “organic” (dirt, clay, straws, stones) and also made by the people/architects who lived in them. Their linen colors were found in nature and made into vibrant pigments. They never called their lifestyle artistic; it was a product of the moment. Well, that was their time. In my lifetime, I followed my intuition, global heritage, personal aesthetics, good manners, contemporary trends, and social movements. I always cherished natural materials but was very open to new technologies and “different”, uplifting trends, the “linguistics” of the moment.
I studied languages, literature, arts, and new media. I formed my tastes in a somewhat open communist surrounding that one can view as plain, conceptual, minimalist, weird, avant-garde, or non-consumeristic, depending on a viewer’s personal experience. After a lifelong, multi-cultural experience, and admiration for education, art and decency, I decided – somewhat late in life – to combine my interests in one place.
The Golden Moth Creative Lounge, open in 2021, is on a mission to convince people that being an artist is not reserved for a group of people. Being an artist is basic self-expression that we all carry in us – the way we use colors, the way we choose our outfits, the way we communicate. In our studio, our creative classes reflect that tendency and our educated instructors are there to help the process. (Sorry guys, this is not your “wine & paint” event.)
The Yakimov boutique, a major part of our business, is a curated collection of global trends in fashion with a tendency towards clear, easy expression. Most of the fabrics in the collection are new, easy-care “tech” materials that are blurring the unnecessary lines between elegant and casual.
After twenty years in coastal North County San Diego, and weekends in inland and South County, I feel I am finding my own city geography – with neither pretension nor greed. This business is not going to make me rich and it is not going to make a big “difference” in the community but it fills up my human void in a nice way. I hope it might do the same for you.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I opened this business in the middle of the pandemic. Also, being a new business did not bring any financial help or “free money”. Solana Beach officials make it somewhat hard to please with extremely complicated regulations and permits such as, in my case, bringing water into my unit. Many events on our agenda (like outdoor cult movie screenings) are still not possible because of, again, regulations and lack of space.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I was a college instructor for French for 30 years. Other than teaching, I always had an inclination towards art making and the written word that explains our social moment and meaning. I studied for a while media production and got a certificate in museum studies. What sets me apart is my curiosity to understand different social groups and the fact that I am a transplant from another culture with all the baggage that goes with it.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Openness and flexibility.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goldenmothclasses.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenmothclass/?hl=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-golden-moth-creative-lounge-solana-beach
