How Kristen Mara got its name: this picture tells the story...

The story of my artistic journey is rooted in Libya and my family’s adventures while living there in my young childhood. The abandoned, ancient ruins of Roman cites, the desert we explored and the treasures we found there -Roman coins, arrowheads and petrified shells yielded up by the shifting sands - all shaped my preferences for simple forms and organic textures.

My memories of the Bedouin and Arab women with stacks of silver bracelets and blue tattoos sparked my fascination with personal adornment, and I still can hear the jingling sounds of silver and see their hoop earrings swaying and glinting in the sun.

While my nuclear family was globe trotting my extended family lived in the American west. Visiting my grandparents’ small ranch meant Grandpa’s scuffed brown cowboy boots and Grandma’s high heeled red ones. It also meant real sage brush, high blue skies, western saddles and best of all, horses. A horse-lovers dream!

Grandpa with Blaze and Peanuts

The foundation upon which my life as an artist began is richly diverse, and the development of my artistic vision intensely personal. Kristen Mara is me - my two given names. Kristen Mara is both a tribute to my family and the many extraordinary experiences I had that shaped my artistic vision, and a celebration of my belief that the best things in life come from the heart - that most personal place. 

What better way to reflect my intention of creating beautiful designs that speak directly from my heart to yours than to name them with my own, true name.

So, how does the picture tell the story?

The boots I am wearing were my grandfathers (he is still a young 93). The rug you see - that graces my living room floor - is from Libya, one of the first that my parents bought during our years there.  And the bangles of course are one of my most popular designs and directly inspired by the beautiful women I remember from childhood. 

Leave a comment below and be sure look for hints of the story while you shop the collection.