“I grew up in Jerusalem. When I was a child, I loved to paint....

“I grew up in Jerusalem. When I was a child, I loved to paint. My father told me that he was going to send me to the biggest art academy, so that I could become a famous painter. But he died before I came of age, so I started making jewelry to support myself. I designed medallions and amulets for Orthodox Greek patriarchs to wear on their robes. I became quite known in the Old City, but when I moved to America, I had to start over. When I first arrived, I decided to try to sell my jewelry to a fancy jewelry shop on 47th Street. My friend told me: ‘You are crazy. Why would they buy from you? You are nobody.’ But I told him to watch me. I went into one of the big stores— one of those stores with 5 or 6 million dollars worth of jewelry in the window— and I told them: ‘I have some designs I want to show you.’ And the owners laughed at me. I told them: ‘You wouldn’t be laughing if you knew who I was.’ And they stopped laughing at me. Then they asked to see my work. They ended up buying all five of my moldings, and they told me to come back whenever I had something new.”