Designer Stephanie Anne is already a household hame in Dallas. Her eponymous interior design business includes two home stores, several retail lines of home accessories, and an A-list clientele. So what's a stylish girl to do when she's already conquered the city's home design market? Start a stunning jewelry label, of course.
Anne's line was an instant hit with Neiman Marcus, which bought the jewelry for its Spring collections. We caught up with Anne recently to chat about her new label and find out more about the gems, the gossip, and the glamour surrounding her launch parties in Florida and Texas.
You have dallied in apparel and, obviously, home design; when and how did you become inspired to create jewelry?
"This was a hobby for me to express my creative side in the hands-on artistic world, as a way to relax! Women inevitably wanted to buy my pieces right off me at parties; so, I made pieces for my Dallas boutique, and it became one of the best selling products I had. Now, I'm working on it constantly and also have additional artisans to expand the line."
How did the partnership with Neiman Marcus evolve?
"Last year when I was lucky enough to snag a meeting with them, the store said it was too late into the buying season to include my line in their Spring collections, but two weeks later, I got a call asking of we could be in their Palm Beach store on Worth Avenue for a pre-holiday trunk show! The success of that show ultimately landed my label a permanent placement in that store and now we're experimenting with other Neiman Marcus locations in South Florida and Dallas."
What was the main inspiration behind "A Colorful World?"
"It's all about color with my semi - precious stones, and the summer color in the fashion forecast for apparel all over the new York runways. Also, I adore the diversity of the world cultures."
What, personally, is your favorite piece from the collection, and what do you feel you will wear most often this Spring?
"I adore my 'Bishop' pendant which is big, bold, and decorative yet elegant and chic. It can be worn at the clavicle, and it also looks great on a really long Stephanie Anne chain, low like the mid-sixties style Jackie O was famous for."
Who or what in your life motivates you the most as a designer?
"Royalty. I have a fascination with the royal family life, royal jewels, the gowns, the travel, the castles, and the antiques. The finest collections of art are often their jewels, and when I design I think about remaking byzantine, Spanish, or English jewelry with a modern sharpness that's still classically chic."
Connect with Stephanie Anne through her website, blog, and social media outlets, and pop into her Highland Park Village store or Neiman Marcus locations in Downtown and Willow Bend for a peek at her new collection.
