While other children were playing with Etch-A-Sketch and Color Forms, drawing shapes and fiddling with naïve motifs, Susan Novogrodzki was expressing herself with gold wire and precious gems, pretending to make her own jewelry in her father's factory on 47th Street. "Jewelry is part of my heritage, I grew up surrounded by it. From a very early age, I loved spending my free time going to work with my father and watching him and his craftsman. I was constantly touching all of the metals and making shapes out of the wire," explains Susan whose collection Susan N Blake has garnered a successful and loyal following among retailers and consumers alike.