Mary Jane’s design talent is an innate gift that she traces back to the first grade and one babysitter in particular. That person sat Mary Jane in the corner until she confessed to who drew the pictures that she had brought home from school. She was undeterred by this babysitter’s form of punishment. She continued to create art and as an adult she became the co-designer of the Iowa Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial.

Spring 2002 marked her artistic shift to jewelry design. She and her husband opened a store specializing in semiprecious and precious stones. She began designing to demonstrate the vast possibilities of the stones, and in that inspirational process her style evolved. She loves making statement jewelry, mostly one-of-a-kind pieces that she never exactly duplicates.

Her first granddaughter now serves as her muse and the namesake of her new line, Chloe Isabelle. This couture jewelry collection is designed for infants and toddlers — although adults love it for themselves. The Chloe Isabelle collection will debut on StyleFolioJewelry.com in fall of 2008.

The palette of colors, shapes and textures that Mary Jane has to work from is a designer’s dream. She loves anything that allows her to express her creativity, provokes curiosity and adds a spark of excitement.