Welcome to Belly Of The Snake, the home of snakes, tentacles, unusual gemstones and eyes that stare deep into your soul.
Belly Of The Snake exists for people who know what they want and don’t adhere to trends. Here you will find jewelry that will highlight your complex and melancholic nature, your independent taste and dark sense of humour. It is made by an introvert for introverts who search for meaning in absolutely everything and deep down inside aspire to be fearless dragon riders or magical forest creatures. Every single item here has a soul and is ready to become a faithful (but possibly snarky) companion on your everyday quests.
My name is Valērija Ečina, a.k.a. Valerie, and I’ve been making jewelry since 2015. I am the only human behind Belly Of The Snake, and I live and create in Riga, Latvia.
I’ve been obsessed with dangerous creatures and all things spooky from a very early age. Later, this evolved into a long love story with metal music, which of course translated itself into my style. I wouldn’t leave the house without a stack of silver rings: snakes, dragons and other creatures that proudly demonstrated that I was nothing like the other girls with their cute and boring “girly” interests.
In my teen years I was “the strange art kid” who would draw black and white pictures during class and sculpt fairy-like creatures late into the night. I received words of appreciation from some older established artists, but I never believed in making art for a living. And whenever I secretly fantasized about it, I couldn’t figure out which art form to pursue, because I didn’t want to make objects that would be left to collect dust on a shelf.
The revelation came several years later, as a “side-product” of my attempts to deal with mental health issues and general confusion in life. I was studying English philology and had no future plans or career aspirations. But one day, as I thought about combining art and functionality, it suddenly clicked. Out of the blue, I knew that I had to make jewelry and I had to start asap. What followed was a radical shift in life and a new sense of purpose which guides me to this day.
Since 2014 I’ve studied with several master jewelers as per tradition, spent a few years in a small stuffy room alongside six way more experienced colleagues, and to this day continue my education while learning from the best. I do everything to provide the best possible quality and items that will last for many years. When it comes to jewelry, my perfectionism borders on insanity.
My preferred method of work is lost wax casting – an ancient technique thousands of years old. I sculpt all my jewelry by hand in jewelers’ wax, which allows me to create complex and highly detailed shapes. I take pride in the fact that I do this solely by hand, unlike many who can’t create without the help of a 3D printer, and it is a special kind of pleasure to watch a piece of jewelry slowly emerge at my fingertips. I perform all the tasks myself, expect casting, which is done by a small two-person studio.
Over the years I’ve acquired clients who have become passionate collectors of my jewelry. They are not celebrities that I could brag about, but every single one of them is my hero. You make this turbulent life of an artist worth living 🖤