In this age of digital everything–e-mail, music, even books!–things don’t seem to stick around quite as long as they used to, and family memories are well, just a memory. But jewelry designer Monica Rich Kosann has a different take on things. Her line, The Fine Art of Family, hearkens back to the days when charm bracelets weren’t just the accessory-du-jour, but instead a bracelet of memories collected over time. Incorporating family photos and custom messages, Monica’s line of bracelets and locket  necklaces–available in sterling silver, 18k gold, and even titanium–is both au courant and heirloom-worthy.  And her gift line includes everything from money clips to photo frames to card holders. Read on to learn more about what happened when this photographer’s love of vintage jewelry combined with her love of helping families keepsake their special moments.

Oligoville: Tell us about your brand and how it is different from your competition.

Monica: During the early 1900′s the accessories for women were created as personal pieces of art. Whether a woman carried a powder compact or cigarette case or wore a charm bracelet or an amazing locket, it was always a personal expression of her tastes.
As a designer of accessories and jewelry I find vintage pieces inspiring as they often convey a timeless elegance. This is the design mantra that I like to think guides my collections. When we introduce a style, I want a woman to be able to enjoy it no matter what the time or period or prevailing fashion. And in twenty years, I want her to be able to give it to her daughter.

I love antiquing and flea marketing and am always looking for these vintage pieces. I began helping my clients take their treasured heirloom photos and place them into these vintage pieces . I would suggest they wear an old charm bracelet again or start a new one for themselves and their children. All my pieces are sentimental; each one is designed to reflect a woman’s persona–like in the early 20th century where a woman’s jewelry had her initials or her favorite stones, colors, sentiments. [Pieces of jewelry] have heart and soul. They are about, and hold, our memories . Many designers may have a locket or charm in their collection. However, my entire design philosophy is based on this sentimental and personal aesthetic.
Oligoville: You started out as a photographer; how did that lead to a career in design? And a follow-up, how does your work as a photographer influence your design work (and perhaps vice-versa)?

Monica: For more than 20 years, I have been professionally photographing families, children and adults, helping them chronicle today with images that quickly become a record of yesterday. Every home deserves a place for a family’s treasured images so when the shoot is over I work with clients, helping them to create their own wall or space of family history. That area is a living document that, over time, expands down hallways and up stairwells, on coffee tables and nightstands, pianos, offices, libraries, growing with the family it represents. I am very much influenced by the early photographers of the 1900′s; their work was the beginning of photography as “art” and not just documentation. During that same period, as I mentioned above, the accessories for women were also created as personal pieces of art.

As a young girl I studied the violin at Julliard and at the Manhattan School of Music. My parents, being European, also loved the arts, and as a young child I was taken to museums, concerts and the opera. I was always surrounded by people in the arts and therefore very inspired by their creativity. Music continues to be important to me. It plays an integral role in my life.

I am also always seeking inspiration from art and photography. It is all about seeing for me. Taking black-and-white photos and still using film really makes time stand still. It is always classic and timeless and can also be very emotional. It is always in fashion, it is sentimental, and it looks like a piece of art, as does my collection.

Oligoville: Whom or what inspires your designs? Who are your favorite designers(and why)?

Monica: I am always inspired by all designers. I tear pages out of fashion magazines all the time and put them on my bulletin board as inspiration. It could be the shape of a Lanvin dresser or a texture on a Chanel jacket or a pair of Gucci boots!

I love old movies, like Sunset Boulevard and The Women, and looking at the old photos of Jackie O, The Duchess of Windsor, Pearl Bailey, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn. They all had such a sense of style and grace. Their jewelry was always classic and elegant. What is so fascinating to me is how these pieces, worn by them, all hold a sense of mystery. Perhaps it is a locket–with a photo of someone or something they treasure–[that they] wear it all day, or maybe just someone they’d like to remember. . . .They are reminders of a string of memories, a complete story of special moments in a woman’s life. Like my jewelry, these pieces all have meaning. Women select those that tell her individual story. It is a piece which once again conjures up mystery and reveals that sense of personal history.

Oligoville: Describe a typical day for you.

Monica: Coffee always first. I never really have typical day. I could be shooting one day or working on designs. I always seem to be on the run!

Oligoville: Describe your fashion style.

Monica: I have two girls, and I always tell them the most important component to having individual style is self confidence and a strong sense of oneself. I personally am very eclectic; I love mixing. I always wear my charm bracelets and layered jewelry. Jeans, my Gucci boots, and a fabulous blouse–and I am set!

Oligoville: Tell us about some unexpected setbacks you have faced since starting your business and what you learned from them.

Monica: I never take no for an answer. I am an optimist, but sometimes [a setback] just happens and you need to move on to the next project. But don’t give up; you can always come back to it.
Oligoville: What has been the most rewarding part of your design career?

Monica: The best is when I am surprised and see a woman wearing my pieces in a magazine or on TV and of course looking fabulous. Also when I get letters from my customers telling me how my pieces made them cry.

Oligoville: Tell us where you expect to see your business in five years and what are some of the goals that you have for your brand.

Monica: I hope to be building the company as a lifestyle brand based on memories and how people bring memories into their lives.

Oligoville: What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Monica: Just do it

Oligoville: What song never fails to make you happy?

Monica: “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire and Des’ree’s “You Gotta Be.” These two songs never fail to motivate me, and anything by Cole Porter !