The Purple Event

I am so excited that TCU is going to the Rose Bowl!!!

In honor of the game, I decided to create an entire collection of purple jewelry. The Purple Event is taking place on my website: www.tramontibywhitney.com and if you use the discount code "purple" you receive 10% off the entire order.

 These are a few of my favorite pieces from the collection:

The Floral Designer

I had the pleasure of attending Kappa Tablescapes at Brook Hollow Golf Club last month where my good friend and extremely talented floral designer, Peyton Riley, created a fabulous table for the benefit. It was my first time to attend Tablescapes and I was overwhelmed by the amount of talent that revealed itself through the creativity and shear imagination that bloomed from each table. If you haven’t had the chance to attend this event, you must. Each individual or company participating in the event is asked to design their own table creation and it’s incredible how unique each table was! I saw leopards dressed in jewels, plates floating in pools of flowers, centerpieces made of tiny beds and antler’s turned into vases. Peyton chose a tea party theme for her table. Using pink and white ranculus, lavender lilacs (which are extremely hard to find this time of year), antique green hydrangeas, white roses, and many more flowers she turned the table into an elegantly chic tea party even Alice would be envious of. I love how she incorporated her grandmother’s candelabras, which were made of Murano Italian glass, her mother’s Frances the First silver, and her own mercury glass vases with clusters of lavender lilacs overflowing from the arrangements to create the perfect complement. The menu and place cards were even hand painted by a local artist to match the flowers on the table- I love how each individual card was a one-of-a-kind!

Kappa Tablescapes is a unique two-day event benefiting Dallas community non-profit organizations. The first event is a festive evening with cocktails and hors d'ouvres celebrating sponsors and beneficiaries allowing patrons to view the designer's incredible table creations. The second event is a luncheon in which guests view and dine at the wonderfully decorated tables, and hear a guest author speak on everything from decorating trends, to table-setting and entertaining tips, as well as culinary topics. I would highly suggest attending next year to see the wonderful creativity of all the designers involved! 

Peyton Riley is a recent graduate of the Cox School of Business at SMU. Throughout college Peyton gained design and event planning experience by working with highly respected Dallas based event planners. Combining her talents for floral design with her experiences as an event planner, Peyton started her own design firm out of college. To hire Peyton for your next event email her at Peyton.l.riley@gmail.com

It's in the wrist

While waiting to catch a flight to Vegas last Friday, I picked up Elle magazine. The seasons resort looks   make me long for languorous days on the beach where bright colors pop on golden tans and the addition of jewels make a swimsuit that much more glamorous. 

Don't you just love the exotic statement that horn cuffs make when they are stacked in different shapes and sizes? I am going to start selling these horn cuffs (pictured top right) on my website once I introduce the Whitney Williams resort collection next month... I love how the surface looks like it's covered in paint strokes!

Arlenis Sosa featured in “Synchronized Swim” in Elle US November 2010 , photographed by Carter Smith, styling by Mario Grauso, Hair by Teddy Charles, Makeup by Fulvia Farolfi

Inspired by Mad Men

Advertising. It's the dream I had since I was little... I was enthralled with the idea of making a brand recognizable. Although I love watching Mad Men for a glimpse into the glamorous advertising days of the '70's, I think I like it more for the design inspiration that comes from watching the show. I saw this necklace on a recent episode and it inspired me to design this new pendant necklace for the Whitney Williams collection. 

Jetsetter.com

If I could do one thing every day for the rest of my life it would be to take off on an adventure... explore the world and discover things I never knew existed. In the meantime I satiate my craving for travel by daydreaming about the exotic trips offered through GUILT groups sister site, JETSETTER. Become a member of the site to receive exclusive deals on some of the worlds most exotic vacations. A few of the vacations currently available...

The Hermitage Plantation Inn- St. Kitts

Deluxe Room- $150/night  Luxury Cottage- $175/night

Truffle Hunt Experience- Perugia, Italy

Truffle Hunt Experience for 4- $735/night

Scrub Island off of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands

Ocean View Guest Room- $225/night

These deals are only available in a limited quantity for the next few days, to read more about these trips or book an adventure of your own visit: JETSETTER

The sun also rises

Last night I started reading Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and came across the quote "Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters." The quote reminded me of a trip to Madrid a couple of years back... my girlfriends and I walked into the arena with a complete naivety towards the sport, we walked out heartbroken for the dead bull and with a completely new appreciation for America's passion for football

The photographer to know

I have been so fortunate to work with the incredible Dallas based photographer, Dixie Dixon. After she shot for the Whitney Williams Collection photo shoot we made plans to get together and take photos for the "About the Designer" section of the website. I met Dixie at her place and we took a few shots on the lake. She is so talented!

Shooting for Resort

For the past few months I have been working on re-branding my jewelry company and we finally had the photo shoot this past weekend.  The brand is built upon the idea that the jewelry is convenient enough for travel, yet stands apart no matter the surroundings. I decided to go with a resort style theme for the shoot because it ties in with the overall look and feel of the collection. Everyone did such a great job working on set, i'm excited for the website launch in a couple of months!

Photographer: Dixie Dixon

Stylist: Carlos Alonso

Model: Jenn VH

It's in the details

The World Trade Center is an unpretentious building in Dallas that houses the world's largest wholesale merchandise mart. On the seven floor expect to see the walls dripping with stones, women swiftly threading thousands of tiny pearls into hundreds of necklaces and the hushed words among the vendors spoken in foreign languages. Over the years i've fallen into the habit of asking Annie (a close friend and vendor) to show me her most unusual pieces. It may sound funny but when i'm talking to Annie I feel like a little girl looking at all of her grandmother's treasures, I especially love the pieces that have a story behind them. She has shown me buttons from emperor's coats (which I made into charms in the past) and ornate antique silver bells mother's used to tie to their children's feet so they could hear them running through the house (great pendants). I once asked her about a strand of bronze (pictured above) and she explained that each piece has been re-molded from African antique bronze and then handcarved into a the intricate beads they are today. I decided to make them into a necklace with leather, cream jade and touches of gold. I love how these little additions create a defiant juxtaposition of practicality and adventure.