It was during a two-hour layover in a Dallas airport five years ago that Citrine by the Stones was born. Peruvian born designers Mary, Michelle and Joanne Stone were returning to Miami after a wedding when the fateful discussion occurred. “I was living in Paris, traveling throughout Europe and had come to the States for a wedding,” recounts Michelle. “My mom, Mary, and sister, Joanne, had been designing and creating jewelry at home for themselves and for friends. During the layover in Dallas, my mother suggested we start our own jewelry line. I said, ‘As soon as you have a few designs in place, give me a call and I’ll move back and join the team and head up the branding and marketing.’” Surely enough, the call came two months later, when Michelle was in Italy. Within a couple of weeks, she moved down and the trio got to work creating original, handmade pieces in the kitchen of their Miami home. “We started from our home, so you can really say we are organically grown,” says Michelle. “It helped that we all came from art and design backgrounds,” Joanne explains, “I studied design at UCLA and at L’Accademia Di Belle Arti di Bologna, in Italy; Michelle majored in design at Parsons/New School NY and Paris and also possessed branding and strategy experience; and our mother is a trained sculptor, painter and photographer.” The Stones share an intense passion for jewelry and its power to transform a woman, making her beautiful, sexy, delicate, elegant, or rebellious. “For this reason our collections change radically yet organically every season in step with life’s ever-changing energy and flow. They are echoes of our culture: classic, yet fashion-forward. The By the Stones woman is not afraid to be herself. She stands out in a crowd for her confidence, daringness, playfulness, generosity and femininity, she is authentic and generous.”

When asked about the origin of the brand name, Read the rest of this entry »