Victoria Yakusha Wraps Guzema's First New York Boutique in Microcement

Every surface in Guzema's first New York boutique — walls and ceiling alike — is finished in grey and warm beige microcement, giving the SoHo store the feel of a velvety box. Ukrainian architect, interior designer and artist Victoria Yakusha created the interior for the fine jewellery brand founded by designer Valeriya Guzema, and her guiding principle is blunt: "What surrounds an object is as important as the object itself. It is what allows you to see it."

The store's design mirrors the jewellery itself: minimal yet far from ordinary. Handcrafted 18k gold pieces set with responsibly sourced natural diamonds rest on displays that seem to have materialised around them — in central oval cases and on grey cones inside glass boxes. Yakusha connected the jewellery displays into a continuous architecture with integrated lighting, a response to the long, narrow space with almost no natural light. Mirrors on the walls, essential for trying pieces on, reinforce the unified look.

"There are many surfaces, but you don't see them as separate elements," Yakusha says. "They almost disappear, and the jewellery becomes the focus."

Rather than colour contrast, Yakusha built depth through texture. "The depth comes through texture rather than colour contrast," she says.

The approach begins before visitors even enter. A window installation draws passersby with a white, sunflower-inspired lamp from Yakusha's Faina collection. Custom rounded sculptures nearby mimic the lamp and display oversized models of the brand's jewellery. "I like to bring something artistic into a space, something that makes you stop for a moment and pulls you in," Yakusha says.

Inside, the browsing experience is deliberately slow. "The jewellery is not simply shown to you," Yakusha says. "You have to come closer and look."

Beyond the main area, the boutique continues into an intimate private-appointment space tucked behind a glass block wall. There, a Faina sofa and ottoman melt into the surroundings, and stylists in slate grey uniforms — created by Safiyaa to echo the curved interiors — help clients find the right piece. Appointments are complimentary.

The boutique stocks the brand's enduring designs, a custom engraving service, and an exclusive collection available only at the SoHo store that reinterprets Guzema's signature styles.

For Yakusha, the interior's job extends beyond display. "Jewellery is very personal, so the space has to do more than display it," she says. "It gives you time to slow down and find the piece that feels entirely your own."

Guzema is located at 112 Wooster St, New York, NY 10012.