VALERIA LIPOVETSKY PLANTS NEW ROOTS IN MIAMI
Louis Vuitton sweater and dress, louisvuitton.com; Hermes boots, hermes.com; Pasquale Bruni rings and Chimento bracelet, kirkjewelers.com // Shot on site at 100 W. San Marino Drive, Miami Beach, listed for $28.5 million by Jean Marie Echemendia and Gina Kirkpatrick of Douglas Elliman.
It's a rare day in the rainy season in Miami. The sun is out in full force, the water is glistening, and I’m on set at a quintessential Miami destination—a breathtaking, waterfront home in Miami’s prestigious Venetian neighborhood. As I’m taking in the view, I hear our guest of honor arrive. With an iPhone tracking her every move, which she speaks to frequently, the beautiful Valeria Lipovetsky (@valerialipovetsky) and her husband and business partner Gary arrive to start the day. Full of energy, big smiles and a ‘let’s do it’ attitude, the duo’s respective roles—Valeria in front of the camera and Gary and the team behind the lens—comes with ease and authenticity that is palpable upon first introductions.
In 2017, after gaining traction on social media and having beauty deals come through with more frequency, Gary approached her to partner in the business and bring her influencing career to new heights. Rather than take the traditional route of influencing, Gary and Valeria launched Valeria Inc., a full-service media company that acts as an agency and handles a 360-approach to production and social media content, spanning from Instagram to TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. They’ve also launched additional brands, such as Valeria’s ready-to-wear fashion line, Shop Verie, with much more in the works.
Just last year, the couple took the leap to plant new roots in the Magic City. Hailing from their home in Canada, the sunshine and palm trees were a welcome sight to the couple and their three young boys, where they now reside and recently purchased the home of their dreams in the coveted Bay Point neighborhood, where they are about to begin renovations. Here, Valeria chats with me on the big move, life in Miami, business, motherhood, marriage and more.
Full Hermes look, hermes.com; Roberto Coin earrings, kirkjewelers.com; her own bracelet; Patek Philippe watch, kirkjewelers.com // Shot on site at 100 W. San Marino Drive, Miami Beach, listed for $28.5 million by Jean Marie Echemendia and Gina Kirkpatrick of Douglas Elliman.
We’re thrilled to have you in Miami! Tell us about why you decided to move to the Magic City.
I grew up in Israel and moved to Canada when I was 20 and Canada felt like a home, and I had my family there, but I always felt that it wasn’t for me. You know, us Canadians, we come to Miami when it snows. So I’ve always been familiar with the city, but have only experienced it as a tourist. When we’d come, we’d shop, eat, party and then just go back home. In Canada, we had three or four lockdowns. On the third lockdown, we relocated to Costa Rica for a few months and decided to go to Miami for a month, and figured the kids would go back to school when everything settled down. When we came here, by the second week, we realized that we needed to live here. We started experiencing the city as locals, as a family. The energy and people here resonated with me very well, it was kind of a no-brainer, so we did a 180. It’s been a year now and we haven’t looked back.
How have you been settling in?
We’ve been adjusting pretty well. I have to say I’m really proud of my kids—they’ve been amazing with the adjustment. They love it here, they’re outside all the time and have made so many new friends, so it put us at ease and allowed us to go with the flow and be very open to integrating within the community. We wake up to palm trees and a sunny view and it’s been wonderful. Because of the people here and how helpful they are, it’s been really nice to be guided and shown around to understand the rhythm of the city. It reminds me a bit of growing up in Israel— it’s very communal and everyone always wants to hang out.
Zimmermann top and skirt, zimmermann.com; Louis Vuitton sunglasses, louisvuitton.com; Kirk Jewelers earrings, kirkjewelers.com; Rolex watch, kirkjewelers.com; Concetto Limone loafers, concettolimone.com // Shot on site at 100 W. San Marino Drive, Miami Beach, listed for $28.5 million by Jean Marie Echemendia and Gina Kirkpatrick of Douglas Elliman.
Tell us more about Valeria Inc. What was it like launching your own media company with your husband?
Back then, it was more of a freelancing era with influencers, so when we decided to build an infrastructure with a strong process for the business, we realized we could build this company with more content, value and opportunity. It also became a place where partners go to for media and data. With Gary’s internet marketing background, he was able to really grow the business and help build the team, which left more time for me to focus on being creative, being in front of the camera and producing more content. It’s become a very smooth experience for our partners, where they feel like they’re dealing with a real agency when they come to us. We slowly started bringing more and more people on—it was a very organic development—and now we have a team of 20 people.
Was it difficult to let go of some of the control of the business?
Yes, I think for me as a Virgo, I was treating it very much like a solo mission—I had a very ‘do it myself' attitude. But now, I’m able to create much more meaningful content and it’s become a really interesting journey for me as an entrepreneur, as well as development for me as a creative and content creator.
Full Chanel Cruise 23 look, chanel.com; Chanel premiere edition original watch, chanel.com; her own bracelet // Shot on site at 100 W. San Marino Drive, Miami Beach, listed for $28.5 million by Jean Marie Echemendia and Gina Kirkpatrick of Douglas Elliman.
How is it working with your husband?
In the beginning it was a bit tough when it was just the two of us because the lines were blurry in terms of balancing work and home. Especially in this business where my personal life is technically my business. The passion did end up bringing us closer, reaching toward common goals. The organization started growing and we found a way to differentiate the areas that we’re leading in this company and that helped our marriage a lot.
How do you pick and choose what to share with your audience when it comes to your personal life?
It’s been a journey for me. I’ve been doing this for six years. I had to learn to make boundaries and later in life change them based on where I was at. I think in the beginning I was so happy that people were engaged in my content that I showed more, and then slowly I started to pull back on it, especially when I started to have kids. Now we’re so sensitive about how much they’re part of our social media presence— making sure that this won’t harm them in the future and we talked to them about this and they understand that they have a right to be in front of the camera. We always ask for permission if they want to be on camera. After I had my third son, I went through a burnout period and it made me realize how much I want put out there, how much my family should be involved, etc. and it made me find balance. I share what can bring value to people without jeopardizing the security of our privacy. So far it’s been working, it’s been a gut feeling, intuition, and we communicate about it a lot. We’re very conscious of it but it comes with trial and error.
Full Chanel Cruise 23 look, chanel.com; her own bracelet // Shot on site at 100 W. San Marino Drive, Miami Beach, listed for $28.5 million by Jean Marie Echemendia and Gina Kirkpatrick of Douglas Elliman.
How do you unwind when you’re not working?
Unwinding is mainly family time and spending me-time as well, whether it’s sharing or discovering things. It’s more of those moments of me, myself and I. In Miami, it’s a wonderful environment to give yourself those moments, like going to the beach and sitting with your thoughts.
What does your daily regimen look like?
1. I always hydrate in the morning by having a big glass of water whenever I wake up. 2. I finish every shower with a minute of cold water. I’ve found it replaces coffee in your life. 3. I’m a minimalist when it comes to skincare routines. I switch my routine based on the seasons and that’s it. Knowing what works for my skin is key. And finally, one last thing is being very aware of my cycles and how it affects my body in terms of what stage I’m in. The whole cycle is such a huge part of my life now. I literally dedicated a whole month on social media to this topic. That’s something I started doing and it made a huge impact on my life.
Full dior look, dior.com // Shot on site at 100 W. San Marino Drive, Miami Beach, listed for $28.5 million by Jean Marie Echemendia and Gina Kirkpatrick of Douglas Elliman.
What’s next for the brand in both the short-term and long-term?
For me, it’s to continue and reiterate the message I put out there—it’s important
to have value on the things I speak on. Reiterating on content is being sure you’re doing good and not cluttering the media with more noise. As a business, we continue to define our media company and look into other ways to expand and represent our expertise to our investors and learn more. On our brand side, we are expanding in terms of ready-to-wear, we’re rebranding, and always looking for improvement. We have this delayed gratification process. On my personal side, I focus on the gratification aspect of it, but on the business side, we deal with the most delayed gratification process when we’re coming up with ideas and making products that we can be proud of. We’re launching a Podcast next year. I’m also going to be writing a book soon, and of course, focusing on being present for the kids and my marriage.
Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
No one knows what they’re doing. It’s so simple yet impactful for me. I always had a feeling that I never knew or did enough. I felt like I always needed to do more. It showed
me you can never know when you’re ready. Whenever I face new challenges, new projects or new things that scare me, I just tell myself that no one knows what they’re doing, and it’s all part of the process.
Fendi dress and slip, fendi.com; Davidor earrings and bracelet, davidor.com; Pasquale Bruni ring, kirkjewelers.com // Shot on site at 100 W. San Marino Drive, Miami Beach, listed for $28.5 million by Jean Marie Echemendia and Gina Kirkpatrick of Douglas Elliman.
Photography by: Photos By: Diego Armando Mendoza
