Misha Skova, originally from the Czech Republic, is a California-based entrepreneur and designer. Her early career in modeling and years of globetrotting inspired her to create a successful brand promoting a low-key beach lifestyle and contributing to the local community.

Misha, let&rsquo;s talk about the popular SKOVA brand. How did you come up with this idea?
I began my career as a model. I found myself more interested in what the designers did than in the actual modeling. The designers inspired me to tap into my creativity and to bring my ideas to life. I was a creative kid, did some drawing and painting. I credit my time working in fashion as my inspiration to create. My designs are inspired by my travels; I&rsquo;m fortunate to have traveled all over the world, and I want to share what I&rsquo;ve experienced. My first designs were to be worn as statement pieces. I was very into designing snake pieces &mdash; cuffs and rings. As I said, my original collection was comprised of statement pieces &mdash; items you&rsquo;d wear at night.
You are the founder of a jewelry company. Could you tell us about your new collections?
I started Skova as a jewelry design company in 2008 and it grew into a beach lifestyle brand. Designing the new collection, Misha Skova jewelry, is very satisfying for me because jewelry is where I started. My new collection is contemporary rather than statement. I have pieces that are meant to be layered &mdash; chain necklaces that can be layered, stacking rings, and bracelets. All the pieces have clean lines, very art nouveau and modern. The collection is affordable and chic.

Is it easy to do business in America, what kind of difficulties did you have to face?
I believe that anything is possible in America, especially in business. I think that as an immigrant I have a unique perspective on starting a business here. Starting and running a business is never easy, no matter where you are. Running your own company means you&rsquo;re always &ldquo;on.&rdquo; If things need to be done at night, early in the morning, or on a Sunday, you have to work. So, no, doing business in America is not easy &mdash; but the possibilities are great.
There are a lot of opportunities to grow a business in the U.S. Other countries make it difficult to do that &mdash; I know this, as I come from what used to be a communist country. There, everyone suffered from stagnation. I think it&rsquo;s possible to achieve one&rsquo;s dreams with hard work in America.

What inspires your beautiful ideas?
Travel inspires my ideas. I am blessed with a wanderlust and a desire to explore cultures and places. Every place I go, I get ideas. Like the animals you see on safari in South Africa or the colors of the desert in northwest Australia.
I say this all the time: I love traveling. The more I travel, the more grounded I feel within myself. As a child, my family and I moved around a lot, so it felt normal to travel to different places. I believe it impacted my adult perspective on being on the go and traveling.

Could you share your plans and dreams for the future?
I am excited to be traveling again. Also, I&rsquo;m really looking forward to bringing more beautiful products to women, items they can use at home and while they are traveling. I have new jewelry coming out soon, a line of contemporary earrings. These are pieces that can be worn every day. I&rsquo;m really excited to dive back into jewelry design!
You can check out my jewelry on mishaskova.com. All of the jewelry and beach lifestyle products can also be found on <a href="https://skova.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Skova.co</a>.

Model: Misha Skova @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/mishaskova" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mishaskova</a>
Photographer: Dominique Labrecque @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/loveandlightphotographer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">loveandlightphotographer</a>
PR company: Say Media @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/say__media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say__media</a>
Styling and buildout for shoot: Melissa Strukel @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/humankinddesignstudio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">humankinddesignstudio</a>

Introducing Misha Skova

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