Jewellery Designer: Ileana Makri

Jeweller Ileana Makri was born in Greece and, after initially obtaining a degree in Business Administration, went on to follow her passion and studied jewellery design at the G.I.A. (Gemological Institute of America, in Santa Monica).

Back in 1987 Ileana opened her first Athens store, where she eventually showcased her signature jewellery line (in 1996). Her designs were an overnight success and the collection was instantly picked up by Barneys New York.

Fast forward 18 years to the present: Ileana’s designs are being sold at high-end retailers worldwide and worn by an ever growing list of celebrity clients (including Uma Thurman, Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum, Lenny Kravitz, Faith Hill, Rita Wilson, Ashley Olsen, Courtney Cox, Hellen Mirren, Jessica Alba and Debra Messing). She is also known for her collaborations with talented London-based designer, Mario Schwab & fashion label ‘The Row’ (of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen).

Unfortunately (but, probably, luckily for me) most of her designs are too expensive to even begin to consider owning. That said, they are still sparkly works of art & amazingly beautiful to look at. Case(s) in point:

[Designer Image: taken from Telegraph.co.uk/ Collection Images: © Ileana Makri]