Mara Labell Designs ranges from understated to statement gifts of beauty
In the glass cases of galleries like Grand Bohemian Gallery in Greenville, Mara Labell Designs glistens with striking beauty. A single strand of champagne diamonds paired with 18-karat gold beads shimmers with minimalist grandeur. An intricate lattice-stitch collar embellished with rows of moss agate emits regal grace.
As the daughter of a mother who owns fine art galleries, Mara Labell is keenly familiar with the world of art. She found personal artistic expression through jewelry making, stitching tiny glass beads into a lattice base for materials like Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, and precious gemstones. When one of her bracelets caught her mom’s critical eye during a charity event, she knew she was onto something.
For nearly 10 years, Labell designed pieces in the style of the bracelet she wore that night—a spiked cuff, with layers of tusk shells stacked and protruding, wild and alive with movement. In the same collection, dramatic collars drape just below the neck, with shells and corals fiercely graceful and untamed. Both feature the lattice-stitch base made with tiny glass beads, one of her signature designs.
The Ripple Effect of Mara Labell Designs
More recently, Labell has turned to 18-karat gold and diamonds to create understated collections. While the coral, shells, and pearls were inspired by Naples, Florida, where she previously lived, the Dangerous Curves collection seems inspired by her new setting, with 18-karat gold curved tubes moving like ripples in the Reedy River. And then there’s Your Daily Diamonds, a collection featuring single or layered strands of sparkling Turkish gold and diamonds—cubed or faceted—in various colors.
Although the jewelry collections oscillate between two aesthetics—one statement, one understated—that doesn’t mean one style is meant to be worn daily, the other saved for special events. Even if it’s just around the house, Labell encourages people to wear the jewelry. She wants people to wear statement jewelry everyday if it makes them feel beautiful or happy.
Labell inherited a belief in universal beauty from her mother, and she shares her carefully crafted form of beauty with those who encounter or wear her gems. She hopes for her jewelry to connect people to memories or loved ones, in the same way she feels connected to her ancestors through a pair of heirloom diamond earrings that she wears like a prayer.
Jewelry has a poignant power to make people feel beautiful, strong, or self-assured. With her exquisite collections, Labell conjures radiance, strength, happiness, and intimacy. And though she lauds those who purchase jewelry for their partners, most of all, she encourages women to gift it to themselves as a tangible reminder of one’s own beauty and self-worth.
For more information or to see more Mara Labell Jewelry, go to maralabelldesigns.com.
