We had the good fortune of connecting with Creative Particle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

What was the thought process behind starting your own business?
I had finished school of ballet where we were taught dance, music and art.  I had been raised on classical music which inspired me and I had since childhood loved everything that has to do with the artistic/creative process.  When I came to America, I had dove right into the same atmosphere which inspired me to start this business.  I had met lots of creative individuals which in turn had introduced me to the art world where I met artists,  saw their art and was drawn to begin this venture.

Before going on my own, I had originally worked for a few Fine Art Service companies which helped me to acquire knowledge and expertise toward this goal. In one of these hiring institutions, National Academy Museum, I had met one of the founding and guiding individuals, Paul McDermott, museum’s registrar, who pushed me and helped tremendously to gain proper proficiency in all aspects of this field.

How do you think about risk? What role has taking risks played in your career?
There is risk in any business.  You can gain or you can lose.  But I am an optimist by nature, an innovator. I had brought this venture up from scratch, without any investors.  I feel that I am doing a great thing by exposing many people and making art available to them for viewing.

What sets you apart from others?
We are better and appealing than others as we have very personal touch with our clients, we that are available via email and phone at all times is a big advantage to them. Also, our projects are never paid upfront – only after completion, and mostly net 30 so also makes it very favorable to our clientele.

We aim to employ only those that are eager to learn and evolve in this field. We invest knowledge and make sure that they grow within this company. Our staff is with us for many years. These are young, ambitions professionals that do not only collect and deliver art, they are experts in all aspects of art handling. And our clients of many years feel comfortable with our team and often request their favorite handlers for particular projects. Thus, this took more than a few years to gain confidence of our clients and gain our reputation.

Now we are working hard on establishing offices in Miami and California, besides our base operation in the New York tri state area. Also in near future we plan to have presence in London, Paris and Hong Kong.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would welcome my friend to New York to first host them at my home with traditional Uzbek Pilaf with some close friends and family. 

I would then definitely take them to my kickboxing gym where my son and I train.

And maybe visit my favorite local spots I often visit for pastime like Anyway Cafe or

Mermaid Sauna (Russian Style Bath House).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I thank my wife Maria Yakovleva, who helped me establish this business and initially began as customer service and development associate and helped place this great customer service practice into place.

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