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Merzatta is not just a labor of love, it’s an actual love story! Born out of a romance between its founders, Chris and Danielle Merzatta, the pair share a connection to the natural world that fuels their design process. Both Danielle and Chris have Master of Fine Arts Degrees, and their collection is a bridge between the history of fine art and artisanship, and a relationship-driven approach to creating. Their work is crafted with love for those who wear it, and for the world in which we all live.
JA New York: The first thing I ever designed was….?
Danielle Merzatta: A poster about the Aurora Borealis? We’re going back decades but I think that might have been the first thing I truly considered as a designer.
JA New York: Every morning I….?
DM: Play violin for 35 minutes with my daughter.
JA New York: My Style Icon is….?
DM: An open job position? I always stop twice with Emma Watson and I’m nothing like her but I deeply love Iris Apfel.
JA New York: I never leave the house without….?
DM: Turning off the lights.
JA New York: I have my breakfast….?
DM: Over a latte hand crafted by my husband- who is also my business, design and artistic partner. We kick off every studio day with a mini meeting about where we’re headed and what’s on deck for the day.
JA New York: Jewelry is all about….?
DM: Communicating. It can be a public display of what you value and how you hold that dear, it can be an intimate connection between individuals, it can be a private symbol of permanence with yourself.
JA New York: One thing I wear every day is…?
DM: My Shinola Runwell watch, and an evolving stack of 18k hammered bangles-one for each year we’ve been married. So far I’ve got 9.
JA New York: I don’t eat….?
DM: Dairy
JA New York: I am a maniac about….?
DM: Injustice. Nothing quite makes me crazy like seeing hearts break that don’t need to.
JA New York: My obsession of the moment is….?
DM: How to have the highest fiber and most exciting diet possible. It’s kind of an entertaining game.
JA New York: I’m currently reading…?
DM: Shantaram [a novel by Gregory David Roberts]. Again. I’ve never actually finished it, and should probably table it. But it’s like an epic roller coaster and I can’t quite get off.
JA New York: I’m currently listening to….?
DM: The wind and the birds and the huge wind chimes we just hung outside the window.
JA New York: My trade show uniform is….?
DM: Navy blue solids— wears well with gold, sterling, oxidized sterling and stones. Or creamy whites— when I’m wearing our two-tone Black Rhodium plated bronze collection.
JA New York: My greatest accomplishment so far is…?
DM: The culture of our family, I think. We built our first line right after the crash in 2009 and crawled up from unemployment to self-employment to entrepreneurship. I did our first show with a five-week old strapped to my chest and have brought that baby-now-young-little-lady to nearly every state in the union for shows. We’ve carved out magical moments with clients and with friends in every corner of the country — and have had a blast crafting a childhood while we’ve charted the course.
