+1 Meredith Marks: Fine Jewelry Made ‘Livable Luxury’
Meredith Marks
Photo Credit: Meredith Marks. Photographer Meagan Shuptar. Photo Retoucher Brianna Kish. Hair Megan Schnell. Makeup Joey Claeyssen. Fashion Stylist Katie Schuppler. Jewels Meredith Marks Jewelry. Two-Piece Set Issey Miyake. Coat Nordstrom.
Meredith Marks: Fine Jewelry Made ‘Livable Luxury’
Meredith Marks
Photo Credit: Meredith Marks. Photographer Meagan Shuptar. Photo Retoucher Brianna Kish. Hair Megan Schnell. Makeup Joey Claeyssen. Fashion Stylist Katie Schuppler. Jewels Meredith Marks Jewelry. Two-Piece Set Issey Miyake.
Meredith Marks: Fine Jewelry Made ‘Livable Luxury’
Meredith Marks
Photo Credit: Meredith Marks. Photographer Meagan Shuptar. Photo Retoucher Brianna Kish. Hair Megan Schnell. Makeup Joey Claeyssen. Fashion Stylist Katie Schuppler. Jewels Meredith Marks Jewelry. Two-Piece Set Issey Miyake. Coat Nordstrom.
Meredith Marks: Fine Jewelry Made ‘Livable Luxury’
Meredith Marks
Photo Credit: Meredith Marks. Photographer Meagan Shuptar. Photo Retoucher Brianna Kish. Hair Megan Schnell. Makeup Joey Claeyssen. Fashion Stylist Katie Schuppler. Jewels Meredith Marks Jewelry. Dress Swaby.
Meredith Marks: Fine Jewelry Made ‘Livable Luxury’
Meredith Marks
Photo Credit: Meredith Marks. Photographer Meagan Shuptar. Photo Retoucher Brianna Kish. Hair Megan Schnell. Makeup Joey Claeyssen. Fashion Stylist Katie Schuppler. Jewels Meredith Marks Jewelry. Dress Swaby.
It is no surprise that diamonds are indeed a girl’s best friend. The excitement of opening that ever-so-inviting, perfectly tied box leaves you beaming with joy. Adorning a stunning new piece for the first time leaves no room for denial that fine jewelry is one of life’s most pleasurable luxuries. Meredith Marks is an award-winning, multi-talented jewelry designer. A much-celebrated celebrity favorite, her collection intertwines breathtaking designs with pieces that can be worn several unique ways.
Meredith’s adoration for jewelry started at an early age whilst appreciating her grandmother’s vast collection accumulated from all over the world. A collection so exquisite that even The American Gemological Laboratories displayed one of her pieces in their window; a 40-carat aquamarine cocktail ring that served as an early artistic inspiration for Meredith.
What really stood out to Meredith and sparked her fascination for versatility in jewelry, were her mother’s interchangeable earrings by Marina B, part of the Bulgari family.
“As a child it was very cool to see because she (her mother) had these interchangeable earrings where she could change up the bottom stone and the color would change from one precious stone to another,” says Meredith.
Meredith’s collection contains many pieces that are both two-sided and interchangeable. Earrings that can be worn as pendants, as well as a unique clasp that she has since patented, which can be clipped onto a ring, worn on a cuff, or fished through a chain as a pendant enhance her collection.
Meredith launched her collection and began her business in 2009 during the economic recession. Fortunately for her business, she was able to draw from her academic background, acquiring two diplomas from Northwestern University in Business and Law which greatly helped her overcome challenges she faced along the way. Attributing much of her brand’s initial success to her knowledge of how to run a business, Meredith identified early on that gold prices were very high. From there, she stemmed the idea to create versatile, fine jewelry, that took up what she describes as “negative space.”
“The versatility is both somewhat of an economy because you’re getting a piece that can be worn in multiple ways, but also a function of lifestyle because it gives you the ability to have really more pieces of jewelry with you, even though you have the same amount,” she explains.
Speaking on the topic of her own identity as a successful, talented, working mother, Meredith reasons that “to have pieces to travel with so you don’t have to take too much jewelry is a huge plus, and to be able to wear the same piece in a different way. Not having to run to the safe and pull out more when you’re in a rush like me is very useful.”
The ethos of livable luxury stands as the epitome of Meredith Marks Jewelry. When asked what this means to her, she says “livable luxury is something that you can transition from day to night, dinner to black tie, and have it very wearable and not just sitting in a safe or closet somewhere.”
It is fair to say that Meredith has taken a nuanced approach to fine jewelry, turning what was typically known from being worn on occasion only, into pieces that can be used to accessorize with every day.
“I don’t want people buying things they don’t want, it’s supposed to be something special to you that you really enjoy, love, and wear,” she emphasizes.
Often inspired by motifs seen on her travels, Meredith is influenced by special observations made in her visual surroundings when designing her collections.
“The design process comes around one or two ways,” she explains. “Either I find a stone I fall in love with and design around that stone, or I see things in my environment that inspire me.”
Her Sistine Collection was inspired after a trip to Rome, where Meredith was taken with a pattern on the floor that she saw at the Sistine Chapel.
Similarly, The Spike Collection came about after spotting a piece of foliage on a hiking trail, “the spike collection was much more modern than the foliage was, but it just served as the inspiration,” she says with a chuckle.
In her designs, Meredith uses precious and semiprecious gems along with settings in gold and sterling silver for their frames. Her pieces resemble much of her own self – a creative visionary and successful businesswoman, with designs that are not only beautiful but also functional. Furthermore, Meredith is attracted to stones’ healing properties, many of the gems used in her pieces have energies and carry with them positive spiritual meanings.
As for the brand’s reputable status, it is no secret that the jewelry is a famous favorite. Seen on both music and Hollywood icons alike – Rihanna, Charlize Theron, Courteney Cox and others.
When asked what in her opinion has led the brand to becoming a celebrity favorite, Meredith says “the big thing is really just getting them to see the brand. When one person wears it, the next person wants it too and it just kind of snowballs. You just need get the door opened a little crack and it can start moving from there.”
As for the future of Meredith Marks, the brand is currently in the process of a large expansion both in the jewelry world and other avenues as well.
“We are trying to introduce some lower price point products to sell to a larger body of people whilst still containing the high end as well,” says Meredith.
The brand now also offers women’s apparel, accessories, as well a completely new product; coffee, which is set to launch soon. And if that wasn’t enough, she also shares with excitement that a new piece on the high-end side is in the works too, mysteriously hinting at a “usable functional piece of jewelry.”
Meredith Marks Jewelry and the rest of its treasures can be found on meredithmarks.com.
