What We've Been Up To...

Meet Alana, Drea, Krystallos, Oona, Bridget, and Justine. We've designed these sculptural rings to fill a void in our collection, and in our jewelry box.  As with every item we introduce at Joanna Morgan Designs these rings were necessary for our everyday fashion life!

The rings were hand carved in wax and then cast in metal (brass or sterling silver).  Afterwards, each one got a nice polish to gleam and shine on your hand.

You can wear one ring as a statement, or stack them up to create different looks.  They can be found at www.JoannaMorganDesigns.com*. Look out for more statement pieces from us soon!

*available in brass; will be available in sterling silver soon; wholesale inquiries please email info@joannamorgandesigns.com

Down Memory Lane

As I was writing my previous post - A Fashion Dilemma and a Very Eco-Chic Solution - I couldn't help but drift down memory lane just a bit. I was thinking about my Grandmother, how beautiful, strong, and elegant she was. Then Christmas came and with it more memories, thoughts about those who are no longer with us - as it always is. Out came the photo albums and old, old family pictures, saved over decades, through wars, occupations, regimes, finally arriving on the West Coast of the USA... Who would have ever imagined that? Anyway - I found this photograph of my Grandparents. So young, just married, with no worries (the last World War hadn't started yet). My Grandma wearing one of her fur collars, impossibly chic in a little hat, carrying a clutch. My Grandpa looking dashing in a hat and a long coat I still remember (I used to hide in it, it was lined in fur, so warm and fluffy inside). I am so glad I found this little memory of my Grandparents, what a lovely image!

A Fashion Dilemma and a Very Eco-Chic Solution

I was faced with an interesting fashion dilemma recently - we were invited to a festive, black tie-ish affair, and digging through my evening wear I realized that my wardrobe lacks a rather important piece, an accessory if you will. Every woman, I think, experienced something similar when going out - bare shoulders, and often back as well, are exposed to warm, hot, drafty, freezing, and hot again air at parties. Wearing a sweater is not an option, it doesn't really go. Pashminas are great, but it's a kinda been there done that idea. I concluded that our grandmothers had it all figured out already. A fur stole or a shrug solved a myriad of temperature problems, and added that certain seductive glamour. Unfortunately fur has become so expensive and politically incorrect, so I thought I had to cross it off my wish list straight away. What to do, what to do? As they say, necessity is a mother of invention. Thanks to my stylish grandmother I have inherited some very old, and very vintage items (one can only wonder how they made it through numerous wars and occupations). I suddenly recalled a couple of fur collars that were stored in the farthest corner of my closet. A trip to a fabric store for some silk ribbon and fabric, a couple of hours of sewing, and I became a proud owner of a very chic, one of a kind, socially conscious fur shrug/stole/wrap - a true feel-good moment. Here it is!

Iconic Style - Audrey Hepburn

Whenever I look at images of Audrey Hepburn I am always amazed how easily her style adapts to lives we lead today. Black cigarette pants, sailor striped T-shirt, ballet flats... Not to mention a little black dress for evenings out... Add a white shirtdress (and turn up your collar for attitude), tailored dark wash jeans, a silk scarf, sunglasses (for a touch of mystery !), a men's style watch, and - a piece of bold jewelry. These classic wardrobe investments will age as gracefully as you, and are a receipe for an easy everyday chic. An undisputable fashion icon, Audrey owed her spare and uncomplicated style to Hubert de Givenchy. Clean lines, simple color palette, bold accessories - what can be easier to commit to? Less is more, that's philosophy to follow. Audrey showed us a way of dressing that is not difficult to carry off, and so easy to imitate. Never tortured, contrived, but beautiful in its simplicity and functionality. Effortless, takes guesswork out of getting dressed in the morning.

Trash to Treasure - Modern Heirlooms

A jumble of strings, beads, rhinestones, bunches of necklaces no longer worn, forgotten somewhere at the back of your closet... Some of it is sentimental, hard to throw out, with memories attached. Some of it looks like junk, broken pieces of something once fabulous now sitting in a sad little heap. But wait, don't throw it all out - not yet. What if it could be reworked and revived? In the spirit of saving our planet, and saving our individual style in the deluge of cookie cutter accessories, what if we could modernize, re-glamorize these old trinkets? This is what happened with my grandma's brooch - a very sparkly rhinestone affair, it was living in a forgotten box, never seeing the light of day (or night for that matter), and various attempts to work it into an outfit failed. And then there was a broken string of a big costume piece, a necklace, and a rhinestone clasp that came from something else altogether. One creative afternoon later, we gained a fab new choker style necklace which is gathering plantiful compliments. It not only looks good, but feels good as well - we did something great for ourselves, and for our planet.

If you'd like to redesign your old trinkets into new treasures contact me at Joanna@JoannaMorganDesigns.com!

Happy Birthday, Madame Chanel!

On August 18th Coco Chanel would have been 128 years old - or 118 depending which biography of Coco we read.  It's hard to believe that so many things that we take for granted in our wardrobes, like trousers, a little black dress, or jackets, we should thank her for.  She did us all a big favour of "stealing" from the boys and passing the goodies to us. One of many invaluable lessons we learned from her is not to be afraid to experiment in fashion - it leads to great discoveries and grooms our sense of style. We may not actually own anything with a "Chanel" label, but our wardrobe favorites echo hers. 
Her choices were brave for the times she lived in, and her courage to be a fashion trailblazer led her to be a fashion icon. It was her who said that luxury is a state of mind, and not a state of our bank account.  A century later after she opened her first boutique her brand stays strong and we continue to crave all things Chanel. What else can I say about Coco Chanel, that hasn't already been said? Merci!