My name is Brandy Thomason. An interior designer by degree but a jewelry designer by calling, I spend my days and my nights pursuing my dream to fulfill people’s desire to embellish their personal styles and life’s moments with custom, one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry.

Encouraged by my grandmothers, I discovered my passion for jewelry design at an early age. I was creating friendship bracelets from seed beads and floral wire at the age of 12, and I spent the better part of my teen years at the local bead shop, independently learning the basics of jewelry making and quickly gaining technical proficiency in macramé, bead crimping and more. While I had attracted a healthy customer base for my jewelry designs in high school, I placed my beloved bead boxes into storage and attended school to prepare for a career in Interior Design. It was not long into my first stint as an Interior Designer at an architecture firm that I realized a sea change was in order.

I returned to my jewelry design table, and there I encountered a creative confidence that was equally rejuvenating and rewarding. I designed and constructed enough jewelry to host my very first trunk show at a friend’s house, and when my work received rave reviews from all the attendees, I founded Bella Vita Jewelry in December 2008.

I thoroughly enjoy everything about the process of designing each and every Bella Vita Jewelry original for my three signature collections. When designing the daintiest of pieces or bold statement jewelry, I love searching for the perfect gems, beads or vintage treasures and combining all the different materials in my studio to create wearable works of art that appeal to the everyday “Bella Vita girl.” I find inspiration in the materials themselves, high fashion blogs and magazines, art museums or the naturally occurring color palettes I see when I take walks with my dog.

I look forward to experimenting more with casting, stone cutting, enameling and metalworking, and I hope you will shop and stay connected with Bella Vita Jewelry to share in the many jewelry design adventures that are soon to come!