New Perspectives

Tell us more about yourself.
I’m Mikhail, and I run a small accessories brand called Erydium with my girlfriend. We started it during COVID, when we were bored at home and didn’t really have anything much to do, and we’ve just been running it and growing the brand since then.

It’s been fun, but also tiring. I find it very interesting as well, because I’m not really artistic or very creative. Before, I just wanted to study, but starting Erydium really opened up my views on art.

What are some things you’ve learned since starting your business?
I learnt that no matter how much you plan for something or plan for your life, there are a lot of things that can change it.

I was a stickler for plans, and used to always think that I was going to have to plan far ahead for my future and everything. But I’ve learned that there’re a lot of things that can happen that can change your plans, your future, your career path, and everything.

So basically, I’ve learnt to just live in the moment while you still can. And try to be open to more ideas. Just don’t be too mundane.

You mentioned that you’ll be enlisting in NS soon. What are your plans after NS?
Well, I don’t know really myself. NS is more like a gap year for me to decide and figure out what my plan is afterward. I don’t think I want to go university; I don’t really see the point of getting a degree in what I studied in polytechnic. So I guess I’ll see how Erydium goes.

Before this, I was studying in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. I liked science when I was younger, but as I grew older and after going through my internship, I realised that it was too mundane for me. And I didn’t really like that.

Later on, I had Erydium that was growing, so that shifted my views even more. It was a sudden change for me, because since young, I had a very strong mindset that I wanted to do science or engineering.

Now I’m at a crossroads of whether I want to pursue what I like or to go back to studying. On the one hand, it’s great that I did study, because having a diploma is like a safety net for me, in case anything else fails. So I always have the reassurance that at least I still have something to fall back on.

What do you do when you get creative blocks?
Usually, I’ll go online to shop for things, like equipment and new materials to work with. I’ll also talk to my other creative friends or reach out to them for new ideas. In fact, they were the ones that encouraged me to branch out into making keychains and hair clips. They inspired me to create some of my crazier designs, like my dragon wing hair clips and everything..

I draw a lot of inspiration from the people around me and the community that I’m in. There are a lot more creative minds out there, and it makes me feel like I can do so much more when I see what they make.