About Michele

I have always loved creating. I started my creative path as a fashion jewelry designer at the age of 20 while still in college.  It was really an accident.  I attended FIDM and Parsons School of Design for clothing design…not jewelry design.  During a summer break I started making sterling silver bracelets with glass beads.  It was while I was working a summer job at a clothing store in Malibu that everything changed.  Customers kept asking about my bracelets so the owner of the store asked if I could make some bracelets and earrings to sell.  Within a week everything had sold out.  I made more and they sold out too.
A few weeks later a neighbor found out what I was doing and encouraged me to put a line together and show at the LA Gift Show, which he ran.  He said he would give me a leftover booth for $500 which was incredible considering they were thousands of dollars.

My boyfriend Andy, who is now my husband, helped put together the booth.  It was a 4 day show.  It was a success!  I picked up my first sales rep and had orders from more than 50 stores, including Nordstrom, Sundance Catalog, Fred Segal, J Jill, and the list went on.  The Nordstrom order alone was a $20,000 purchase order.  Now I had to make everything!  I turned my mom’s living room into a manufacturing facility where I made every singe piece of jewelry myself.

Shortly after my business began my jewelry started getting some press because the actors on the tv shows Friends and 90210 were wearing my necklaces.  For those old enough to remember those days, my necklaces became a huge trend because of the shows.  My business grew from only one employee, me, to 10 employees.

Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Miley Cyrus, Ellen DeGeneress, Tyra Banks, Courtney Cox, Kathy Lee, Mia Kunis, Scarlett Johannson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Withersoon, Dakota Fanning to name a few all wore my jewelry. I have been featured in dozens of TV shows like The View, ABC, NBC, CW, Rachel Ray, Oprah’s Favorite Things to name a few. And hundreds of magazines like InStyle, People, US Weekly, WWW, and Forbes.
Fast forward 32 years and hear I am.  My hubby and I are empty nesters and live in San Diego. Both our kids live in Los Angeles. My daughter, Lily, graduated college a few years ago.  She’s an actress and screen writer.  I will be filling you in on all of the exciting stuff she does.  She and her writing partner wrote a TV show and is filming the pilot in a few months.  My son, Tristan, is a junior at the University of Southern California.  He studies design and entrepreneurship.  He also acts and models and his biggest passion is designing clothing. Lots to share about him too!
A few years ago, with the encouragement of my family, I started a YouTube channel to share some of my creativity outside of jewelry design.  The channel is all DIY and How-tos showing you how to make and create your own style – in fashion, home and lifestyle.

I created this blog as a journal for my DIY projects and a place to journal about my life.  My goal is to make it a fun place for people to be inspired to make something cool!

Thanks for visiting and sharing my journey.

xo, Michele