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

Hi Dmitrii, what do you attribute your success to?
I thought about this for a long time. The main thing is the quality, the best quality of cabochons.
I always try to keep the bar very high!
And I am sure that the main thing is hard work in what you do.

I am sure that my success can be useful for those who are interested in this field of knowledge about stones, and perhaps would like to have additional income, because creating a workshop does not require large investments.
And making cabochons is also fun!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am Lapidary artist of cabochons. My professional experience is over 17 years as of 2023.
One day I decided that I would devote my whole life to the artistic cutting of cabochons.
Nature has hidden amazing paintings inside each piece of stone, and thanks to my cool skills I know how to uncover this secret correctly.
I make all the tools (cutting and polishing cabbing machine) myself. This is very important, since it is necessary to create high-precision and very high-quality cabochons and the standard cabbing machine is not suitable for me, it does not perform all the necessary functions.
In my entire career, it is very difficult to count the number of cabochons that I have made with my own hands.
I can definitely say that there were a lot of them.
I think over 100,000.
My cabochons are used by various handmade artisans and jewelers, as well as collectors from 40+ countries around the world.
I would like the world to know me as one of the best lapidary artist of cabochons in the world.
This is comparable to the great artists of antiquity.
Appreciated and carefully kept each of my cabochons.
After all, I make them with great love.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I think that everyone individually chooses what he likes. I would simply advise you to admire every place and see in every knowledge its beauty, history and spirit of the place.
This is very important, because thanks to this, these places are preserved and carry this energy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am grateful first of all to my wife! She supports me in my art.
As a person of art, you must see the appreciation of your work by other people and try to always inspire people with your art, this helps them find peace of mind and happiness.
One of the key factors is to see how your handmade cabochons turn into amazing jewelry, many craftsmen send me photos of finished jewelry and it encourages me.

Website: freakenfru.com

Instagram: @freakenfru

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freakenfru

Other: My main page in Instagram: @freakenfru my email: freakenfrubox@gmail.com i make website now, i think… maybe I need 2-3 month for finish freakenfru.com

Image Credits
Cabochons Fuchsite with kyanite – mosaic in hand. At an exhibition in Finland in the village of Ylämaa in 2018. In the jungle, on the way to the Zircon deposit. Cabochons from different minerals of my author’s technique.

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