Art and Soul of the South
1312 Washington Street
Downtown Vicksburg
Mississippi 39180
601-629-6201
Monday -- Saturday
10:00a to 5:30p
Official Jewelry Designer
for Miss Mississippi
France Beard, Miss Outstanding Teen for Mississippi
Designing for a Queen
A Journal by Regina Gailani, Jewelry Designer
Thursday, July 7
Just finished meeting France and her mother Ann at Art and Soul. I love France already, and she likes vintage!! Of all the Outstanding Teens, she has the clearest vision of what she wants for her jewelry.
We spent at least twenty minutes talking about her general likes/dislikes, color preferences, eye color, wrist/neck measurements, earring preferences, skin tone ... and then reviewed the particular outfits that she needed jewelry (mostly earring-bracelet combinations).
Here's some of the take-away I needed to start designing her jewelry for Miss America Outstanding Teen Pageant.
Likes coordinating bracelets & earrings
Most often wears her hair down
Favoriate colors turquoise, coral, neutrals, purple, green.
Likes the Audrey Hepburn "vintage/dainty" look
Likes smaller, more delicate, with a "pop" of color
Prefers vintage gold (not bright gold) finishing
We also set a follow-up meeting/email exchange for next Friday, 7/15/11. With her deadline so close, I have to make sure that my designs are realistic for her needs (i.e. interview jewelry not too dressy, but professional) and that I'm on track with her expectations.
Monday, July 11
O.K. One item that France asked for was a dressy rhinestone bracelet that wouldn't snag her gowns. I have spent at least two hours researching the internet for such an item just to discover that any rhinestone is going to snag. Wow ... maybe this would be a great product for Art and Soul to make!
Then another idea sparked ... France mentions that she rarely wears a watch. Knowing that she likes vintage and antique gold, I first researched E-Bay for a vintage watch (with set-in stones) for her ... but didn't see any I liked (and worked). I am going to try to make her a watch out of a delicate gold vintage bracelet she liked at Art and Soul (that won't snag her clothes). This would really be a surprise for France!
Tuesday, July 12
Some great discoveries today! Turns out that my business neighbor, Crown to Heels, supplied a lot of France's clothing ... now I just have to run next door and see the pieces. Turns out that France liked some earrings over there as well; so I bought them and will make a coordinating bracelet. One outfit done! Many more to go.
Miss Mississippi Outstanding Teen Website
Madison Ark, PAWS (France's platform)
