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Top O.C. designers, continued ...
Children’s accessories designer
Jane Elia Schwartz
Founder and creative director of JelliBee Baby
Santa Ana
<<< Photo by Carla Rhea
Advice to aspiring designers: “If you have a signature piece, theme or style, don’t be pressured into changing it too much.”
One
diaper change at a time, Jane Elia Schwartz is redefining the look and
feel of motherhood, with designs that blend sophistication with
practicality.
Her product line, which she calls
“practically gorgeous,” includes organic-cotton-lined baby bibs and
ornate travel wipe clutches and cases – each with a homespun, whimsical
quality.
Before leaping into the design world last year,
Schwartz worked as a program manager for AT&T Corporate. While
earning her bachelor’s degree in communications and an MBA in global
business from Rutgers, Schwartz took art and design classes – an
interest she’s had since childhood, after spending hours with her
grandmother, who taught her to sew and craft. She says her grandmother
taught her that she could make anything from pantyhose, toothpicks and
Elmer’s glue.
But she credits the birth of her two
children, Mia and Alex, for giving her the confidence to chase after
her lifelong passion. That, and some advice from a professor, who
taught her that, however ornate the exterior, the designer must never
lose sight of a product’s functionality.
“If it’s not functional, it’s a failure,” she told her.
And
when she’s not designing for JelliBee, Schwartz enjoys spending time
with her family in Rancho Santa Margarita – and probably working on
some type of creative project at home. But two to three nights a week,
she escapes to the dance studio for ballet classes.
Derek Jenkins | Barclay Butera | Mariana Stoopen
Matt Tubergen | Jane Elia Schwartz | Marc Entin
Kelli Ellis | Dan Parks | Oday Shakar | Lin Shen
Top O.C. designers, continued ...
Children’s accessories designerJane Elia Schwartz
Founder and creative director of JelliBee Baby
Santa Ana
<<< Photo by Carla Rhea
Advice to aspiring designers: “If you have a signature piece, theme or style, don’t be pressured into changing it too much.”
One diaper change at a time, Jane Elia Schwartz is redefining the look and feel of motherhood, with designs that blend sophistication with practicality.
Her product line, which she calls “practically gorgeous,” includes organic-cotton-lined baby bibs and ornate travel wipe clutches and cases – each with a homespun, whimsical quality.
Before leaping into the design world last year, Schwartz worked as a program manager for AT&T Corporate. While earning her bachelor’s degree in communications and an MBA in global business from Rutgers, Schwartz took art and design classes – an interest she’s had since childhood, after spending hours with her grandmother, who taught her to sew and craft. She says her grandmother taught her that she could make anything from pantyhose, toothpicks and Elmer’s glue.
But she credits the birth of her two children, Mia and Alex, for giving her the confidence to chase after her lifelong passion. That, and some advice from a professor, who taught her that, however ornate the exterior, the designer must never lose sight of a product’s functionality.
“If it’s not functional, it’s a failure,” she told her.
And when she’s not designing for JelliBee, Schwartz enjoys spending time with her family in Rancho Santa Margarita – and probably working on some type of creative project at home. But two to three nights a week, she escapes to the dance studio for ballet classes.
Derek Jenkins | Barclay Butera | Mariana Stoopen
Matt Tubergen | Jane Elia Schwartz | Marc Entin
Kelli Ellis | Dan Parks | Oday Shakar | Lin Shen
Matt Tubergen | Jane Elia Schwartz | Marc Entin
Kelli Ellis | Dan Parks | Oday Shakar | Lin Shen