The BELLA LUCE Story
BELLA LUCE DESIGNS evolved from a passion for collecting beautiful & unique objects and a desire to re-create and pass along that passion to delight others. Vintage and Antique elements have become somewhat of an obsession in my jewelry designs due to their scarcity and unequaled quality of workmanship.
I have always been inordinately attracted to color, texture and light but a trip to Italy, specifically the Isle of Murano, is where all these elements came together for me in such an inspirational way.
I forged a relationship with a wonderful family owned glass factory and began importing custom colored Venetian glass beads in 1989. Working with these artisans nurtured in me a true appreciation for their careful adherence to age old techniques as well as a new found fascination for all things antiquated.
At that point, I began to incorporate vintage elements into my jewelry designs that had been primarily created from Venetian glass beads. There was not that much interest in vintage elements at that time or at least they weren’t considered “trendy”. I was fortunate enough to seek and find several sources for vintage/antique components both here in the states and abroad – not an easy task before the internet was in general use! I have literally pawed through old factories and warehouses on what I refer to as “treasure hunts” and have been able to retrieve boxes of fabulous beads and glass ornaments from bygone eras.
I pride myself on recreating new jewelry designs by integrating these unique vintage/antique elements in manner that is “faithful” to their truly beautiful legacy. I only wish that I had an endless supply of these fabulous vintage components! Every piece I create is one of a kind and once the vintage/antique elements are gone, they are gone for good.
While wearing vintage is considered the ultimate recycling by some, I consider it a bit more glamorous in that you are proudly wearing a bit of unique artistic history!