Jewelry Designers Give Vintage Pieces a New Twist

Costume jewelry and accessories are on the rise again, with up-and-coming designers paving the way with new looks and turning one-of-a-kind vintage pieces into high-end fashion ornaments. Here’s a look at two Los Angeles-based accessory designers who are finding inspiration in yesterday’s treasures.

Lara Noel Hill

Lara Noel Hill didn’t set out to be a costume jewelry designer. She just has admiration for elderly women who dress up in fine jewels to do housecleaning.

Despite Hill’s off-beat personality, her one-of-a-kind vintage- style jewelry collection called Designs by Lara Noel Hill is set to reach upward of more than $200,000 annually.

The collection consists of vintage earrings, brooches and pendants embellished with semi-precious stones, faux pearls, rhinestones, rondelles and fancy beads. Its unique and refined pieces are reminiscent of jewelry you might find while rummaging through your grandmother’s jewelry box or of that rare and special gem you might stumble across at a yard sale.

The names of each piece in the collection are almost as extravagant as the item itself. “Green Leaf Goddess” is a 1930s-era leaf brooch with light and dark green chaton and marquis-cut rhinestones in a bezel setting with faux pearl strand; “Gold Shield” is a 1920s-era gold dress clip with metalwork detail in the shape of a shield and is accented with baroque-style faux pearls; and “Metamorphosis” is a 1940s-era gold-plated fur clip with intricate leaves that swirl around large and small faux pearls and is accented with pearl-shaped brown-gold and clear round rhinestones.

Hill said price points vary, depending on the size of the centerpiece and the stones and beads used to create each item. Her made-to-order pieces are for those who prefer specific shapes, insets and necklace lengths. She customizes heirloom jewelry into modern collectibles by turning them into mini-variations of classic pieces by Coco Chanel and Bulgari.

Hill admits she wants her collection to develop into a lifestyle brand. “I want people to be able to look at the piece and know it’s a Lara Noel Hill design,” she said.

Los Angeles-based Hill’s humble beginnings began after she graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in marketing and advertising. She held positions at Creative Artist Agency and Elektra Records and hosted a radio show called “Subterranean Selections” on KCRW. But something was missing, she said.

For a while, she taught mentally challenged grade school students how to make jewelry while she attended classes at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where she learned how to hone her jewelry-making skills.

Lately, Hill has been working out of her design studio at her home in Sherman Oaks. With her business rising steadily, she has been scouting office space in Hollywood, where she hopes to move early next year.

Her decadent, handcrafted collection necklaces have made inroads in fashion circles where dressing up doesn’t always mean spending a fortune on accessories. With wholesale price points ranging from $25 to $150, the collection is carried locally at Flirt in Hollywood, Fred Segal Melrose in Los Angeles, Show Pony in Echo Park, Ruth Waters in Long Beach as well as at Sherres in Scottsdale, Ariz.

And, during Los Angeles Market Week, the company cemented contracts with specialty stores in Florida, Texas, Iowa and Las Vegas. Hill said her business has done especially well going into Fall with buyers looking for key selections for holiday accessories.

Eventually some of the more popular pieces will have to be manufactured, said Hill, who is beginning to notice identical requests from buyers.

She said the next step for her company is to pitch the collection to boutiques in New York and London.

The Jeanette and Wayne Engel Showroom in suite B-1069 at the California Market Center represents Hill’s collection. For more information, call (213) 623-4124.

Beth Frank

Beth Frank’s tale is reminiscent of a lowbudget indie film that explodes overnight. Not too long ago, the disillusioned thespian and former TV studio assistant quit her job and turned a passion for vintage belt buckles into a successful couture accessories business.

Frank, whose customized vintage coats and accessories can fetch anywhere from $298 to $1,200, still ponders what life would be like in the entertainment industry, but she also realizes that her unconventional wisdom lends itself to another creative medium—fashion.

“Fashion is part of the entertainment industry, and there is a market out there for things that are special for people who want something different,” she said. “It’s kind of a niche collection, where the customer sees my stuff and thinks, ’Wow! That designer really knows me,’ and I think customers really like that.”

The Los Angeles-based designer’s collection was an instant hit at several local specialty stores. And last year she opened her own boutique, called Frank, on Fairfax Avenue, just down the street from CBS Television City. Her wholesale and retail business combined is slated to come in at just under $1 million by year’s end.

“It’s really weird to hear people come into my store and say that my accessories make them happy,” she said.

For her collection, Frank shops at flea markets for vintage buckles and jewelry. “I use anything I can find—earrings, brooches, bracelets, pendants and vintage hardware,” she said.

Wholesale prices for Frank’s pieces range from $155 for a basic belt with the designer’s signature buckle and handpainted strap to $575 for a leather coat with hand-detailed art nouveau designs. She also has a watch collection made from vintage watches set in leather wristbands.

Victorian-style buckles with cameo brooches and gothicinspired, medieval-looking buckles are just a couple of styles in the collection, which also includes several tooled-leather handbags with hand-painted designs. A vintage buckle with jewelry and beaded strap is based on a Native American choker design, said Frank.

The collection is currently sold at high-end stores including Bergdorf Goodman, Fred Segal Flair, Henri Bendel and Saks Fifth Avenue. It’s also available at Harvey Nichols in London and Colette in Paris, alongside top-notch designers Gucci, Prada, Chloe, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein.

Along with Frank’s eponymous collection, her 600-squarefoot store sells handpicked vintage items by other up-andcoming designers. Most of the company’s business is handled in the store’s back studio.

Frank said she’s in no hurry to design a sportswear collection, although she agrees that would be a logical move given the quick success of her accessories line. “If I do anything, it will have to be custom pieces that pay a lot of attention to detail. It’s going to be a while before I do anything like that, but when I’m ready I already have some ideas for my collection,” she said.