Posts Tagged ‘Jess Constable’

Chicago Designer Spotlight: Jess LC

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

With no prior interest in jewelry making, Jess Constable became an accessories entrepreneur at an early age. At 15, inspired by a friend, she began making ankle bracelets at her neighborhood pool. Women showed interest, and Jess found a money-making alternative to babysitting. Ten years later, she’s got a full-time business designing classic, sophisticated jewelry for the all-American woman. Like a marriage between J.Crew and Adina Reyter, Jess LC designs are whimsical yet structural. Their simplicity and elegance immediately stand out, but it’s the underlying girliness that resonates with shoppers.

To maintain focus on her design approach, Jess’s rule is to allow her work to evolve with a “natural grace” by avoiding overuse of design elements. “I don’t like to have extra things just for the hell of it,” she says. “If there’s a pop of color or something kind of interesting, that becomes the focal point. I don’t try to compete with [that].” Those thoughtfully infused accents form into geometric silhouettes with an innate softness, which attracts shoppers with a classic sensibility and need for versatility.

This aesthetic permeates both her collections: the Chicago Collection and Soc Chic. With respect for her Chicago roots, Jess names each line in the Chicago Collection after local streets, like Madison, State, Division and Elm, to name a few. The nine lines are comprised of necklaces, braclets and earrings crafted from gold, silver, ribbon, beads and quartz. Ranging in price from $18-$200, the Chicago Collection caters to various styles and budgets.

Two of Jess LC’s Soc Chic necklaces, “The Match Made in Heaven” (left) and “The Falling Star” (right). Top image: Some of our favorite designs from Jess LC’s Chicago Collection.

The second collection, Soc Chic, features nine necklaces with dainty charms, all benefiting various social causes. Each necklace has a catchy name, like “The Pink Lemonade” and “The Lucky in Bed,” and comes in a custom box that describes the respective cause, allowing shoppers to the choose a design and charity they identify with. Imerman Angels, paws4people, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation are just a few of organizations reaping the benefits of your jewelry shopping. The Soc Chic necklaces come in both silver and gold and are priced at $40.

As Jess looks to the future of Jess LC, she plans to grow her collections in new ways. You’ll find the same modern jewelry, but the designs are of a bolder nature. She’s looking to interior design and patterns of repetition for inspiration, creating pieces that are both contemporary and classic. And when it comes to buying designer jewelry, that’s a nonnegotiable for us.

By Danielle Parker

Images courtesy of Jess LC

Tags: Accessories, Chicago Designer, Chicago Fashion, Jess Constable, Jess LC, Jewelry
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