The Review Connection | Review: Melinda Maria Jewelry

Melinda Maria Jewelry

Celebrity Jewelry Designer Dazzles with Designs

Meet Melinda Maria Raney, a name so familiar with actresses and celebrities that they do not hesitate to wear her jewelry every chance they get. This creative soul launched Melinda Maria Jewelry in 2005 and has been making headlines ever since. She creates beautiful, high quality jewelry that looks real, but is actually fine crafted costume jewelry. It is important to Melinda that everyone can afford and have her work as no one knows the difference with her dazzling designs. As Melinda originally began with a fine jewelry line, all of her craftsmen were highly skilled jewelers. Thus, when she transitioned to costume jewelry, they treated the designs with the same attention to detail as fine jewelry pieces with diamonds. “Even a simple piece of glass is cut and set with the precision of a diamond,” she states. Melinda uses glowing 22-karat gold vermeil, enameling, and colorful cubic zirconias to give her pieces a high end look. Therefore, all of her costume pieces look and feel incredibly real.

Melinda did not need any outside inspiration to launch her own line as making jewelry has been her passion since she was ten years old. She would take anything she could get her hands on and craft it into a necklace. She always had a creative side, and even her mother thought she would be the next Martha Stewart because Melinda was always doing an arts or crafts project, making jewelry, painting, or cooking. Jewelry was her hobby as a child but she began selling pieces on the side in her early twenties and later made and sold jewelry in her late twenties when she was dating her boyfriend (now husband). “He was the one who convinced me to start my own company. As an artist, one of the greatest tools for success is to find someone who knows how to run a business--he was that person for me and continues to be,” Melinda fondly says.

Melinda Maria Jewelry The Sabina Infinity Pod Hoops Black Onyx CZ are a red carpet favorite by celebrities. These hoops are made from 18k gold plate as never ending miniature pods encircle the hoops and are speckled with black onyx diamond cubic zirconias throughout. Measuring 2” in diameter, these hoops make a flattering statement while also looking like they cost a fortune. Julia Roberts wore a version of these to her Duplicity movie premiere. We adore the pretty design of the pods all along the hoop and how fabulous they look with any hairstyle. Melinda Maria Jewelry has a loyal following of celebrities that often sport her pieces to premieres or events, including Julia Roberts, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Vanessa Hudgens, and many more. High fashion designs, carefully selected materials like semiprecious stones and gold-plated metals, and the craftsmanship of some of the best jewelers in the world come together to create stunning pieces that can be worn by celebrities on the red carpet or anyone.

She decided to not attend college as she knew school was not for her at the time since she wanted to become an actress in New York. Growing up in a small town in Washington, she could not wait to break out and see the world. However, it turned out she was not as passionate about acting as needed in order to succeed and to this day, admires actors that stick it out as she knows how difficult it is to make it. Melinda is completely self-taught with her innate talent in jewelry design. “When you have a passion or an obsession, you spend every dollar you have and most of your free time learning about it, and so I read and studied everything about stones, the jewelry bench, and sketching on my own,” she recalls.

Melinda Maria Jewelry She loves all of her pieces and thinks of them as her babies, but she especially loves the Pod collection because it is her signature collection. Melinda loves how everything goes with each other and is very symbiotic. She shares, “I love that I can stack different bangles in the collection and they all look so rich and fabulous together!” We too, love her Pod collection just as much and had to rave about the White Diamond Crystal Pod Pave Cuff as one of our Editor’s Picks. This gorgeous cuff is made of gold-plated vermeil and adorned with white diamond cubic zirconia stones. It sits comfortably and is lightweight enough to wear all day long while also looking elegant along the wrist. The cuff is also available with black diamond or blue topaz cubic zirconias. Megan Fox loves to wear hers stacked with multiple pod pave cuffs. This cuff has also been spotted on Hayden Panettiere, Kate Beckinsale, Leslie Bibb, and many other actresses. This sophisticated yet edgy cuff is sure to become an instant favorite in your wardrobe as it goes with anything from casual to dressy.

Melinda is constantly inspired by so many different things, whether it is sitting down in a beautiful spot in her backyard with a colorful palate of pencils to sketch dozens of designs, or seeing something in New York City on a cold day that sparks her imagination. She could continue endlessly with everyday scenarios showing how her ideas can come from anywhere. “So, I always have my eyes wide open!” she exclaims. Aside from jewelry making, Melinda pursues her creativity in life through many other ways, such as working on a furniture and home décor line with the brilliant interior designer, Thomas Schoos. She considers herself extremely lucky to be working with the best in creating something together through each of their different skill sets. In the arts, talents can translate to different fields and it has been an enlightening experience for Melinda in collaborating with Schoos.

Melinda Maria Jewelry Chosen for its unique but sexy design, the Nikki Pennie Serpent Necklace All White Diamond CZ is also an Editor’s Pick. The pendant features a artistically designed serpent embellished with white diamond crystals while its emerald green eyes give it a glint of color. The dazzling sparkle of the white crystals along the graceful curves of the pendant makes this necklace look like a high-end couture item. Also a celebrity favorite, this necklace is available in a black/white cubic zirconia and green/white cubic zirconia. Melinda Maria also offers a smaller version of this necklace, the Baby Nikki Pennie Serpent Necklace, for those with a more petite frame.

She designs every piece herself but has an amazing team of people handling the business side of her line to ensure that things run smoothly in the midst of their booming expansion. Melinda truly sees it as a luxury to be able to design full-time. The purpose of her designs is to make women feel beautiful, to bring people together and inspire compliments. “The kindness and power of a compliment can make you feel more beautiful and confident than any material possessions you own,” she shares. She will always keep the “classic Melinda Maria” pieces in her collection since people continually ask for them. Examples are the Hayden Mesh Earrings named after Hayden Panetierre, or the Vanessa Pod Ring named after Vanessa Hudgens. Both girls have been photographed in these pieces dozens and dozens of times and Vanessa even attested it was her favorite piece of jewelry.

Melinda Maria Jewelry Aside from bold and beautiful pieces, Melinda also creates feminine and dainty pieces that offer just as much detail. The Baby Domed Pod Earrings are a classic pair of everyday earrings that will essentially go with anything. We selected the Platinum Plated Baby Domed Earrings as worn by Julia Roberts. These gorgeous earrings feature a petite half moon dome with platinum bead clusters dangling along its outer exterior. The crisp and cool color of the platinum throughout gives this pair an elegant touch. As much as we love this platinum pair, we just had to also include the Blue Topaz Bead Cluster Baby Domed Pod Earrings in 18k gold vermeil with a cluster of blue topaz beads. The bright cerulean blue of the blue topaz beads dangling from the yellow gold domes offers a flattering contrast and especially stands out against darker hair. Measuring 1” in length, these earrings are small enough for work, school, or an evening out, but fashionably elegant with its austere shape and pod clusters in your choice of gold, turquoise, ruby, pink topaz, or labradorite beads.

One of her favorite jewelry designers is Tom Binns because his pieces are so well thought out and meticulously put together, “as if one grabbed a fistful of jewelry and threw it all on -- and it looks amazing!” Melinda also designs for the stars to use her jewelry to raise money for important charities such as The Name Campaign for Ugandan children and the Whaleman Foundation. In the near future, Melinda Maria has several new and exciting products in development, including some fun evening clutches. Her collection can be found at top stores like Fred Segal and Harvey Nichols. Melinda has noticed that e-commerce has really started to explode since many women do not have the time to go into stores. Her online sales with sites such as Intermix.com and shopbop.com have both been doing extremely well. Melinda shares with her readers, “You don't have to spend a million bucks to look like a million bucks!!” Her full collection can be viewed and purchased at her own online store, melindamaria.com.

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