The Review Connection article on Briana Rene

Briana Rene Designs

Changing Lives with the “Egg of Hope”

Briana Rene Designs was founded by Briana Ellison in 2009. Her designs are different because they are not about following current trends but instead reflecting on what is important to her at the moment and what is going on in her life. While she knows that her pieces may not be for everyone, it is more important to get a strong reaction, rather than a mediocre one. She had the opportunity to visit Africa one summer with her husband and was so stricken with seeing children living in extreme poverty that upon her return, she truly wanted to do something to help. It was because of that trip that she decided to launch her own jewelry line and create an entire collection where a portion of sales would be donated to charity. “The spirit of the people who live in the rural areas is truly amazing. They have so little yet they have the capability to appreciate life and see it through such hopeful eyes,” she reminisces. Briana created the Egg of Hope collection to provide donations to the Children’s Hunger Relief Fund. 10% of each Egg of Hope sale will be donated to this fund. She sees the need that exists in the world and plans to pick a new organization each year to donate a portion of her sales to. Featured here is the Blossom Egg, displaying beautiful hand painted flowers in an array of colors outlined with gold against a black background. This artistic necklace makes a statement with its unique design and bright colors.

Briana says, “I have always had a love for vintage jewelry and design.” Even as a little girl, she always loved dressing up in her grandmothers jewelry, which later placed her in the fashion industry to gain experience in sales, management, and merchandising for many years. Above it all, she loved designing the most. Her creativity has also always shone through other areas of her life with her drive to try new things that none of her friends were doing. Rather than follow the maddening crowd, she picked up horseback riding and competing in equestrian jumping shows while her friends were playing soccer. Briana finds that constantly trying new things is how she expresses her creative side. Briana graduated from Long Beach State University with a degree in sociology. She never studied art or design in college because she wanted to teach elementary school at the time. Once she graduated, she sought a break from school and moved straight to Los Angeles, where she started working in the fashion industry.

Briana explains, “My jewelry is a product of who I am…my style is a fusion of elegance and passion. I always try and make each piece unique and ask myself if I would still wear it in forty years. If the answer is yes, I know I have a great piece!” She is constantly trying to come up with new ideas that she has never seen done before and loves working with 14k gold or chunky antique brass or thick chains. In her most recent collection, Silent Chaos, Briana has enjoyed using masculine chains to change things up a little. The Mischa Necklace is a one of a kind piece made with mixed chains of sterling silver, aluminum, antique silver and gun metal, finished with a 1950's vintage brooch. The bold and edgy look of the large links intertwined with sterling silver chains hanging throughout is fun and flirty.

Her favorites include the Byrdie Necklace from the Egg of Hope collection because it has a real vintage feel and is a timeless piece. The Egg of Hope collection can be worn by anyone and it will never become dated. Each egg is so unique and 10% goes to a good cause. Briana has always possessed a love for travel. She moved to Granada, Spain to study Spanish and travel Europe when she was twenty, and ended up living there for a year as it was the most incredible experience of her life. During that time she learned a great deal about herself and had the chance to immerse with other cultures. “Traveling the world has opened my eyes to so many beautiful places and people; I get a lot of my inspiration from my travels,” shares Briana. Many of her ideas come from her travels as she travels overseas yearly and returns home with new ideas for her collections. She is inspired from her encounters with people and seeing new places. In all honesty, most of her designs are the product of whatever is going on in her life at the moment. Briana can create one piece and have a whole collection follow.

Briana seems to have traveled the world as her favorites include Greece, Italy, and Africa as being the most influential in her collections. The Atlantis Collection was inspired by Santorini, one of the most beautiful places she has visited. From the deep color of the sea to the breathtaking sunsets, the entire city stops to hold its breath at its own beauty. The Poseidon Necklace is another one of her favorites because it goes with everything. She loves that it is a choker with a bunch of little dangly chains on it that looks like fringe. Also, Briana loves Italy as she is Italian and never travels abroad without visiting her favorite city, Florence. “Florence is a truly magical city and I manage to cry every time I have to leave there,” she says. Her last trip equipped her with gorgeous leather, which she decided to create a line mixing different materials. Her Eden Collection contains this mixture of leather and chains. Her favorite from Eden is the Eve Necklace (in maroon leather), which she wears all the time. She loves going out at night with jeans, a t-shirt, and her Eve necklace. Made of gold, silver, and brass in it, it carries an elegant vibe with punk rock undertones.

Her collection changes annually as she introduces three to four new collections. She will continue to sell the Egg of Hope collection, while updating it with six new styles twice a year. Briana never takes a break as she shares “When I am working on one collection I am always thinking about what I am going to design next.” In the coming years, she sees her company with a wider distribution as she wants more people to experience her brand and hopefully fall in love with her designs. She hopes to expand into the European market and for her line to find a place internationally. Her ultimate goal is to simply work on design and move forward with her plans to start a line of clutches and messenger bags. She looks forward to possibly establishing a small team to assist her as she is currently wearing so many hats in her business. Briana cannot help herself as she is a total perfectionist who often takes on too much but gladly while knowing things will turn out perfect. She designs and hand-makes each piece to ensure perfection.

We also selected the Santorini Necklace, made of a layered antique brass chain necklace and glass beads. This necklace is pleasantly lightweight and extremely comfortable to wear as the double layered chain links draw attention to the neckline. In the rare moments she does have free time, Briana enjoys going to the beach for a run along the sand, walking to her local Farmers market, and grabbing drinks with friends. Briana wants to share with readers that, “I hope people continue to love my designs. I design from the heart and I put a lot of time and effort into each piece. I love being in line at the grocery store and seeing someone wearing one of my pieces. It gives me such a sense of pride and accomplishment.” All pieces are personally designed in her Laguna Beach studio. She encourages customers to send her photos of them wearing their favorite Briana Rene pieces as she is working on creating a fan page on her website to showcase all the beautiful faces who support her.

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