NEWS
By Alisha Gomez | March 22, 2012
Sometimes a trip is more than just a great escape. That's what happened to Kallie Dovel when she first traveled to Uganda in summer 2007. It was there that she saw what women were going through: little to no education, lack of health care, extreme poverty. But there was one thing they had: paper beads they made by hand and turned into jewelry. Unfortunately, there wasn't a market for them to sell the items. Dovel started thinking. She brought home a box of the Ugandan jewelry and showed it to friends and family, who were amazed.
NEWS
November 7, 2011
High-end Spanish jewelry line Uno de 50 has arrived at Fashion Island, the Newport Beach shopping center announced Monday. The 440-square-foot store between the koi pond and Pacific Court near Macy's is the jewelry maker's first West Coast location, according to the release. Although Uno de 50 was started under the premise of keeping each collection to 50 pieces or fewer, the line has since expanded production past that quantity with stores in Europe and the U.S. "Our collections don't follow trends or crazes; they are pieces that emit a unique, categorical and timeless design," Emilio Benzadon, managing director of Uno de 50 in the U.S., said in a prepared statement.
NEWS
By Sarah Peters | October 20, 2011
Fashion Island has expanded its inventory of luxury denim and high-quality jewelry with the addition of Earnest Sewn and Roberto Coin. High-end denim retailer Earnest Sewn opened a 2,300-square-foot space in the corridor between Macy's and Nordstrom on Oct. 1, said center spokeswoman Jane Gillespie. To commemorate the arrival of its first Orange County location, Earnest Sewn debuted the "Newport" jean at the new store. The limited-edition $198 denim is the first of the "Golden Ticket" line and features 24-karat gold buttons, rivets and a gold foil screen print.
NEWS
By Britney Barnes, britney.barnes@latimes.com | July 27, 2011
COSTA MESA - The O.C. Fair is a chaotic mass of blaring music, thrilling rides, larger-than-life stuffed animals and deep-fried ecstasy. But after passing the foot-long corn dogs and dodging the chocolate-covered bacon, there is an area where the intensity eases to the speed of window shopping. That is were Eduardo Oliva, 68, can be found. It isn't Eduardo who catches the eye of fairgoers; he is a slight man with a weathered face. The soft-spoken Eduardo has an intensity for his craft that could make customers wanting his attention think they are being intentionally ignored.
NEWS
April 28, 2011
Several hundred pieces of jewelry on Wednesday were reported stolen from a Costa Mesa store after a break-in, according to police. Visions and Dreams was broken into sometime between Tuesday evening when workers left the shop, and Wednesday morning when they returned to work, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Bob Ciszeck said Thursday. The suspect appeared to have entered through a boarded-up window in the store. The business is still assessing the value of the jewelry stolen, Ciszeck said.
NEWS
By Joanna Clay, joanna.clay@latimes.com | March 22, 2011
It all started with a hobby. Gorjana Reidel, a Newport Beach resident, would design jewelry for friends and in 2003, she was surprised to have a Newport Coast boutique offer to sell her pieces. Now her namesake brand, gorjana sells to celebrities such as Jessica Alba and Cindy Crawford. With a staff of 16 in a Laguna Canyon artist's studio, the brand took a philanthropic route in 2008 by incorporating charity. It began with a holiday food drive for the Orange County Rescue Mission, which they now call Team Hunger, at four Laguna Beach grocery stores.
NEWS
February 24, 2011
Mark Patterson, a New York-based custom jeweler, this week announced that its flagship store has moved to Newport Beach, according to a press release. The store, which has opened on East Coast Highway, features certified gemologists, 11 goldsmiths and diamond expert Frank Conforti, according to the release. "All shoppers will find a unique experience at Mark Patterson, whether they are looking to make their first jewelry purchase or to have a custom piece designed around a loose stone they can choose themselves from an exclusive collection of gemstones," the release said.
NEWS
By Sarah Peters, sarah.peters@latimes.com | February 22, 2011
A Newport Beach jewelry store is about to become a hot after-school hangout for moms and their children, who are winners of the "Why Mom Deserves a Diamond" annual essay contest. Charlie Xu, an eighth-grade student from Rancho San Joaquin Middle School in Irvine, and Leah Korenberg, a first-grader from Los Coyotes Elementary School in La Palma, are the winners of the annual contest run by Gallery of Diamonds in Newport. Both children and their mothers, family members and school officials are invited to a special ceremony at 9:45 a.m. this Saturday at the jewelry store, which specializes in loose diamonds, engagement rings and vintage jewelry.
NEWS
From latimes.com | September 3, 2010
COSTA MESA — Christian Dior lovers now have a new reason to adore Dior. The Christian Dior store at South Coast Plaza celebrated its grand reopening this week complete with flowing champagne, models in the designer's latest dresses and an appearance by actress Eva Mendes, who's been photographed on several occasions with a camel-colored Dior Libertine Hobo bag slung over her shoulder. The store location may be the same, cater-cornered from Hermes in the Costa Mesa über-mall, but the interior has undergone a complete facelift.