“We’ve been here until 8:30 every night this week,” jewelry designer Kara Ross says, a steady stream of hustle and bustle swirling in the background as she puts the final touches on her first retail outlet. The 600-square-foot store, which opened last month on 60th Street at Madison Avenue, houses her lavish accessories creations. Ross has affectionately dubbed it her “little jewel box.”
“It’s very exciting and scary at the same time,” she says. “It’s a large undertaking, like a business within a business.”
Lucky for Ross, she already has customers who sparkle as exceptionally as her designs, with fans like Oprah Winfrey, Anne Hathaway, Cameron Diaz and even Michelle Obama.
baubles for first ladies of fashion.Courtesy of the designer
The first lady, who famously utilizes her visibility to promote American designers, continues to commission Ross to create gifts for visiting heads of state, dignitaries and even White House employees.
“It’s exciting, not only when you see it in a magazine or on a friend, but on someone on the street,” Ross says with palpable happiness. “It’s always a wonderful feeling when people appreciate your work, whether they are famous or not.”
Ross’ jewelry is famous for its bold use of statement gems in eloquent yet unexpected settings.
“She has a unique point of view,” explains designer Tory Burch. “Her collection of jewelry and handbags is distinctive, mixing color and texture in interesting ways.”
Indeed, Ross’ design philosophy is deceptively simple: Let the stones dictate the jewelry. She works with brightly colored and unusually shaped rocks, such as aqua-blue raw hemimorphite or pink angel skin coral, then builds the piece around its existing character. “It’s about working the beauty of the stone,” she says, “rather than manipulating the stone to your vision.”
Ross worked briefly in advertising at Harper’s Bazaar before becoming a certified gemologist. She launched her namesake jewelry label in 2003 and has since extended her brand to include luxe handbags (made of materials like lizard and ostrich) and rolled out a secondary line of lower-priced jewelry called Kara by Kara Ross.
Her intimate new boutique is awash in creamy pearl, with display cases lined in off-white stingray skin and jewels guarded by a majestic taxidermied white peacock named Octavius. “To showcase my pieces in the way that completely fits my own vision and brand,” she says, “it’s the ultimate expression of myself and my work.”
Shine on.