My name is Maria Bougioukos, and I'm a 21 year old self-taught Jewelry and Accessory Designer, and the Founder of Rebel Candy Designs. I live a double life as a Landscape Architecture student from Cal Poly Pomona. I started designing, making, and selling jewelry at the age of 12 out of the desire to express my wild, quirky ideas, love for fashion, and to fulfill my innate drive to become an entrepreneur.

I’m an all-around artist and designer, but jewelry and accessories are some of my favorite mediums to work in. Over the years, my design aesthetic has matured and expanded. In the current day, I draw heavily from my studies in Landscape Architecture and its modern day focus on sustainability, and innovative design strategies—this stretched my wild imagination even further. Many of my pieces are made from re-purposed objects, and recyclables that I manipulate until they are unrecognizable. I enjoy glamorizing mundane and underappreciated everyday objects to show that jewelry and accessories aren’t just about assembling pre-made, pre-purposed pieces into a familiar arrangement--but rather pushing the limits of design, wear-ability, and appreciation for these objects, while opening people’s eyes to the endless possibilities. There are no limits for what I design in this realm, I crave the next challenge, and will never stop. My inspiration can be derived from literally anything. If something strikes my eye, or touches my soul just right, I manifest its essence into a piece. From all of this, Rebel Candy Designs was born to harness all of these concepts and ideas—as a rebellion against the predictable, overly trendy, lack-luster and mass-produced. I would rather people bought a product for the design not the exorbitant price tag, or luxurious brand name that goes with it.

I've designed for a variety of people with a variety of interests and perspectives and backgrounds. I’ve joined forces with budding clothing designers in two previous runway shows, including RAW: Hollywood, to custom design for their lines, helping to bring their accessorizing ideas to life. My ultimate goal is to grow Rebel Candy Designs into a top-notch, cutting-edge fashion design company that gains its reputation for its innovation, quality and versatility.

I want to join MM because I would love to network with talented up and coming people in the fashion world, and build valuable connections.

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