Theresa Bruno’s fine-jewelry designs are fit for a first lady - Houston Chronicle
Theresa Bruno is what you might call a lucky person. “Serendipitous” best describes her ascent from a jewelry collector to the fine-jewelry designer who counts former first lady Michelle Obama as her No. 1 fan.
“I’m not a designer by trade. I’m very much self-taught,” Bruno says.
She’s also modest, and unlikely to mention her background as a classically trained pianist and Juilliard School alum. And though her path to musical stardom was cut short after a hand injury, unbeknownst to Bruno, there was still plenty of magic left in those fingers.
“I was living in Los Angeles part time and would wander into Barney’s and find all these vintage pieces. I loved to put my twist on them,” she says. “Then I started hanging out in the L.A. Jewelry District and learned how to do beading myself with a little bit of help.”
She’d caught the bug. Next came metalwork and casually sketching rings. Over the next year and half, she created 30 pieces for herself. The thought of starting an actual business had not crossed her mind.
Then a friend suggested she try her luck at the couture showrooms in New York. Cocktails were involved — and after a little liquid courage, Bruno booked a flight.
That was 2011, back when Janet Goldman, the woman responsible for launching labels such as Alexis Bittar and Ippolita into the big leagues, owned the now-shuttered, industry-famous Fragments jewelry incubator/boutique in SoHo. She recognized Bruno’s talent straight away and placed a large order.
“You have a made hand,” Goldman told her.
However positive, the response caught Bruno off guard. She felt intimidated and turned it down. “I went in there as green as could be with my 30 little pieces. I apologized for wasting Janet’s time and high-tailed it out of there.”
Fortunately, Goldman wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Bruno eventually handed over her 30 trinkets, and within six weeks landed on the cover of the New York Times Style section.
“Michelle Obama’s stylist saw the story and called me,” Bruno recalls. “So I sent her the 30 pieces, and Mrs. Obama wore them to a state dinner in Chile.”
Her husband, James Bruno, pointed out the fortuitousness of it all. His wife was onto something.
“It was so crazy that the first lady was wearing my stuff,” she says. “She named me as one of her favorite American designers and invited me to the White House. Anna Wintour (Vogue magazine editor-in-chief) was there. I don’t think I would’ve made it like I did if Mrs. Obama hadn’t worn me out of the gate.”
Three years later, Bruno scored another ride-or-die customer the old-fashioned way: at a trunk show. Hallie Vanderhider, a Houston Chronicle Best Dressed honoree, was initially struck by Bruno’s outfit.
“The first time I met her, she had on the longest strand of South Sea pearls I’d ever seen,” Vanderhider says. “And she wore them crossbody over this full Brunello Cucinelli-style look.”
If Bruno has a “made hand,” Vanderhider has a honed eye. The private-equity executive boasts an enviable collection of Chopard, Bvlgari and vintage Chanel jewels. By now, she’s added at least 25 pieces from Bruno’s line, named Jordan Alexander after the designer’s two sons, to her treasure trove.
“A lot of times I’ll want something for a specific dress, so I’ll send a photo, and she’ll design something to go with it,” Vanderhider says, explaining the collaborative, bespoke process. “Theresa is a very cultured designer who puts a unique but elegant twist on old favorites. She’ll add a cage around pearls. And she loves color as well.”
It’s true. Bruno’s holy grail is the paraiba, a vibrant blue gemstone with a hint of green that was discovered in Brazil circa the ’80s, though she’s never gotten to design it. “There’s very little of it left in the world. It’s all mined out.”
So she makes do with its cousin, tourmaline, and mixing her own 18-karat gold, which casts a distinctive glow.
In May, Vanderhider’s inner circle got up close and personal with rare Jordan Alexander pieces over dinner in the brand’s new atelier in the Post Oak area. Armed guards kept a close eye as women tried seven-figure baubles on for size. One Asscher-cut diamond necklace clocked in at a cool $3.3 million. Want earrings to match? The set will run you $4.4 million.
The sticker shock proved easier to swallow with bottles of Dom Perignon Champagne and a four-course meal prepared by Potente chef Danny Trace thrown in the mix. Vanderhider’s a good customer of his, too.
“I just called and said, ‘I know this isn’t your thing and you don’t have to stay all night,’” she shared. “He said ‘yes.’”
Her plan worked like a charm, and Bruno won some new business. She wants younger audiences to know that Jordan Alexander includes a range of price-accessible items as well.
“Most people don’t realize I have a diffusion line. You can come in and get something for $500,” she says, adding that her next-gen collectors love a good knuckle ring. “I’m a pleaser. And I like to be very inclusive.”
Whatever she’s doing seems to work just fine. Luckily.
