Meet The Team

Owner & Designer

Brandy Thomason McNair

Brandy Thomason McNair launched Bella Vita Jewelry in 2008 at local art fairs, retail craft shows, and online at bellavitajewelry.net. Thirteen years in, Bella Vita Jewelry can be found at 200+ brick-and-mortar stores nationally,  internationally and in her brick and mortar shop in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Brandy lives and works in downtown Little Rock. All of her jewelry is made by hand in the Bella Vita Studio, which is housed in a beautifully restored century-old building. Bella Vita Jewelry is known for being made in small batches and one of a kind runs of personalized & hand stamped charms, natural stones, hand cast bronze & sterling pendants, and vintage baubles.

When she isn't tending to her growing small business, Brandy enjoys spending time in the garden with her husband, perusing local flea markets, traveling, and hanging out with Chester aka #littlerockshopdog .

Wholesale Manager

Miki Elliott

Miki joined the Bella Vita Jewelry team in 2017 to provide behind the scenes support. She has worn a lot of hats at Bella Vita, but now handles everything for the wholesale side of the business.  Miki met Brandy way back in 2003 when they were both pursuing their Bachelor of Interior Design degrees at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. After becoming a Nationally Registered Interior Designer and traveling the world, Miki and Brandy reconnected in Little Rock and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with Brandy again. She loves being a part of the growing Bella Vita team of badass ladies!

Miki is a Virgo Goddess and her superpowers are: super-organization, being wonderfully weird and the ability to find peace amidst chaos. She’s married to a LRFD Fire Apparatus Engineer, Jeremiah, and is the mom of Bella Vita’s very own "Boss Baby", Margo. Some of her other favorite things are: live theater, her dog (Maisy Lou), vintage furniture, playing the ukulele, color-coded day planners, garden gnomes, reading and a good cup of coffee.  Her favorite dance move, and food, are both the mashed potato.

Production Manager

Meg Choate

Meg first joined the team back in 2014 helping out with production and after returning to Little Rock, she rejoined the team as the Production Manager in 2018. Meg gets to make all the jewelry we sell in our own store as well as the other businesses (large and small) around the country and the world that carry our collections!  She says "I enjoy imagining the lives our pieces will have and the stories they will go on to tell once they reach their new homes."

Along with jewelry making, she also enjoys finding a good creek spot, singing and playing songs for pals on porches, and making colorful foods.

Retail Manager

Hannah Lawrence

Hannah joined the team as the Retail Manager in Fall 2022. Hannah majored in Textile Art at Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville and brings a creative eye to retail. She makes fun macramé pieces that she sells in the shop as well. Hannah is super passionate about supporting female creatives in the shop and helping their art or products shine.

Hannah is married to Corbin Lawrence, a freelance graphic designer. They have two cats, Meowna Lisa and Purrscilla Presley and a schnoodle named Fuzz Aldrin. Hannah loves a good vintage hunt, house project, true crime podcast and Art in general. 

Production Assistant

Kendal Drew

Kendal began crafting at a young age thanks to her aunts and grandmother. Jewelry making along with crocheting, ceramics, painting, and currently, paper mache are among many of the arts that sh is most passionate about. A Gemini at heart, she can never quite decide which to focus on so must experiment with them all! Kendal says "Working at Bella Vita and being in the company of other creatives and jewelers is just the coolest! What an inspiring space; always pushing me forward to improve my skills in whatever creative endeavor I take on. If we haven’t met you yet, we can’t wait to inspire you as well!"

Retail Assistant

Johanna Weinheimer

Johanna is a student at Little Rock Central High. When she’s not at school or working in the shop, she’s creating plant hangers for her business, JohannaColeMacrame. She loves yoga, traveling, making art, shopping for plants, and hanging with her two dogs, Max and Reuben.

Retail Assistant

Daniella Montero

Daniella joined the team and has enjoyed being surrounded by creative women who teach her something new everyday. Bella Vita has become a safe space when expressing creativity, giving her the opportunity to express her creativity, creating videos for the business, and building experience for her degree. She is currently a student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock studying Media Production and Public Relations. Outside of Bella Vita, Dani runs a small vintage business on Depop named Radtabulous. She loves to thrift, so with Radtabulous she is able to rehome awesome finds! Dani says "I’ve always been surrounded by creativity. My grandma was a seamstress and my grandpa was into photography. Their passions have become some of my favorite hobbies like sewing, knitting and film photography. I’ve always loved to learn, so I’ve been quick to pick up on new hobbies." When she's not doing something fun, she's most likely loving on someone’s pup.

Shop Dog

Chester

Chester joined Brandy's family in February 2021. He is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Chocolate Lab mix. Chester was originally supposed to be a duck dog, but his first family didn't have time to dedicate to him. Now Chester is the best shop dog by day and tennis ball fetcher at night. He LOVE treats and pets and leaning in to the cuddles from his friends. Chester loves being a part of the Bella Vita team and spending his days in downtown Little Rock. In his free time you can catch him hanging out at MacArthur Park or in the McNair Garden. If you want a glimpse in to his life, follow you can follow on his new instagram account @littlerockshopdog