Sizing It Up - A BESTeam Feature

One of the things that I personally feel is important when buying jewelry is making sure that it fits properly... and that means a good fit for lifestyle, skin tone and coloring, and yes, even body size. Patrice Kelly, the owner of today's featured shop, DesignsByMayanna, and a resident of my old home town of Chicago, shares that concern in her designs, since she specializes in plus size jewelry designs.

Ladies, let's face it, if you're 5'2", and a bit on the Rubenesque side with a 36D bust, that little half inch heart on a 17" necklace just ain't going to make much of a statement. Likewise if you're 6'1" in heels and seriously big-boned, even if you're long and lean, a 20" strand of pearls is likely to look like a 16" strand would on the average girl. Add in a little meat on those bones, and I'm sure most of you can understand why, when it comes to jewelry, one size simply doesn't fit all! That's why I love shops like DesignsByMayanna. While most of her creations can be worn by anyone of any size, they're created with the larger size woman in mind, and with the lovely designs that use length and detail to create a statement instead of simply chunky beads, you can be fashionable without necessarily being funky (although she's got some pieces that are fun and funky too!)

Let's take a peek at some of the goodies you'll find in this great shop...

The "Windy City" may not immediately make you think of shoreline and seashells, but Lake Michigan has some great beaches, both in the city and all along its shoreline. These earrings, featuring green amazonite rounds with shimmery AB glass beads and silver accents remind me of hot summer days when I worked in downtown Chicago and would look out on the lake and see the white caps rolling in against the greenish blue water of the lake. Lovely aren't they? (And Patrice offers a matching necklace to boot!)

When I was looking through Patrice's shop to make my selections for this feature, I saw this necklace and for some reason, peach melba came to mind.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this yummy dessert, it consists of warm poached peaches, vanilla ice cream, and a warm raspberry sauce. As the ice cream melts into the peaches and the raspberry sauce blends in, it turns into a medley of gold and pink... The same lovely warm colors like you see in this multistrand necklace featuring lepidolite, glass pearls and an assortment of glass beads. Very rich and feminine!

This enchanting lavender and amethyst bracelet is definitely my favorite!  It's springtime fresh and feminine - and the shimmery silver accents and czech crystal make it glamorous enough for even the most special night on the town. I absolutely love the design and you all know what a purple fiend I am :)

Patrice definitely shows a great eye for structure and design in this piece - if you like this view, be sure to check out the listing to see the detail on the wire wrapped clasp!

While Patrice is a solo act for the most part when it comes to creating these beautiful designs, DesignsByMayanna had its beginnings as a collaboration between her and her daughter Ayanna (Mommy+Ayanna = M'Ayanna!) nearly 8 years ago when she was encouraging her (then 10 yr old) daughter to start a crafting business. While Ayanna's interest quickly waned, Mom was hooked, and the rest is, as they say, history. (Although Ayanna does offer her opinions before anything goes out the door!)

I hope you'll take some time to browse through the rest of DesignsByMayanna and then hop on over to Patrice's blog for some fun and informative articles as well as first peeks at her work and features of some other very talented artisans. You can also find her on Facebook at Designs by M'Ayanna and follow her on Twitter too!

Thanks so much for stopping by - I'm sure Patrice would love to hear some comments on her designs, so be sure to leave some feedback!  Have a wonderful day!


xo,