Typically on A Girl’s Gotta Spa! we don’t discuss fashion or jewelry (except during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week of course!) so having an interview with Design Director, Tiffany Bausch, of MONET by Liz Claiborne regarding their holiday collection may seem out of place. However, I broke my own rule and made an exception. Why? Because MONET originated out of Rhode Island in 1929, my home state (go West Warwick Wizards!) and I have always promised to support Rhode Island businesses because Little Rhody is awesome…also we have the best coffee syrup in the world.

Shannon Nelson: What was your inspiration behind the collection? 

Tiffany Bausch: I pulled inspiration for this collection from a combination of emotions, sounds and time periods. The market theme is “The Sound of Music” (the actual sound of music not the movie). I listened to a bunch of my favorite songs of the decade’s past and asked myself: If I listen to this song what does it make me think about, what colors do I see, how do I feel, what do I want to wear? The holiday’s are all about parties, food, music and fun and I wanted to speak to this with the jewelry…a party around your neck, a song on your ear, a jingle around your wrist, and, a little rock and roll on your finger.

The collection also has an underlying old Hollywood glamour feeling and that was mixed with a little bit of the roaring 20’s. These periods are all about looking your best and having fun. This feels right…we all need a little bit of sparkle and fun right now.

Shannon Nelson: What materials did you use and why?

Tiffany Bausch: We used beautiful glass pearls and faceted glass with super saturated colors. For September, I was really into these beautiful blues and greens, and in October I wanted the month to read very tuxedo…black tie. I loved the idea of everything being Jet, Crystal, Silver and Siam Red. In November, I was loving the shades of tourmaline as well as mixing jet with brown, crystal and touches of fresh lemon.

Shannon Nelson: When a woman puts on any piece of jewelry from this collection, describe in one word how you want them to feel.

Tiffany Bausch: Complete.

Shannon Nelson: Which piece is your favorite?

Tiffany Bausch: The drama bib from Love on the Rocks. (pictured)

You can see the holiday collection from MONET at www.MONET.com.