Sources: Equestrian Style | The New Casual Friday | Chanel-Chic Denim | Denim with a Little Sparkle

We love a little denim and pearls. Enjoy a few of our favorite style inspirations to try with your wardrobe. You just might become the talk of the office on casual Fridays.

Sources: In a Frame | Organized on a Shelf | Stunning Drawer | Wall Art Shadowboxes

It may be February, but I’m still in the clean-and-organize-your-home mode that comes with the new year. With a growing collection of beautiful jewelry, I couldn’t help but think about a way to get them out of hiding (in every drawer, purse or the linen closet), and find a way to really let them shine. Here are four stunning display options that inspired me — and hopefully, will inspire you too.

I had my 2012 Spring Collection photo-shoot on Friday…

It was SO fun and exciting to finally see my designs come to life on Lara, with the help of Photographer – Chelsea, and Stylist – Heather!

This collection turned out to be more modern, with a lot of hand fabricated shapes and chain.  For those hand fabricated pieces, I turned my designs/ideas over to GIA grads and bench jewelers, Jamie Printz and Hannah Miller. They both created these pieces for me from scratch, using metal sheets and wire.

I love AND encourage collaborating with other people in the jewelry industry.  It’s time to support and collaborate, not compete!

Pictures of the NEW Spring Line will be out soon on my site!  Stay tuned…

Sources: Pearls & Polo | Cozy Sweater & Pearls | Plaid & Pearls | Flannel & Pearls

Like everyone else, I’ve caught the Pinterest bug. I love seeing what inspires others and it’s helped me to be even more creative in my design work. And my closet.

Check out some of these cute looks styled by a few great fashion bloggers. I love how they believe pearls aren’t just for the office. Or your cousin’s wedding. Or dinner with the in-laws. They are for weekends, too.  And we couldn’t agree more.

Have you fallen in love with Pinterest too? Can I check out your boards? (I’d love to – honestly!) Tell me where I can follow you.

Follow Julia on Pinterest @zhuliapearls | Follow Ashley on Pinterest @designstylist

Perhaps it was that royalty-esque styling that set the future stage for her personal style. She perfectly mixes the most current trends with an effortless ladylike charm.

Because we share the same dark hair and a love of nerdy glasses (which we actually need), she is the one celebrity I would love to share closets with. Although, I’m not sure she’d be as excited about my closet as I would be about hers.

It’s her classic style that brings a fresh look to the fashion scene, perfectly blending the old and the new.

“I’ve always had a love for fashion.”

Growing up in the Midwest, I spent a lot of my days sketching my own fashion designs and styling my own wardrobe based on current trends. I dreamed of becoming a top American fashion designer, staying up late reading every fashion magazine I could get my hands on.

My senior year of high school, I decided to take a few marketing classes, to better help me become America’s new favorite fashion designer. Instead, it inspired me to study business in college. To cater to my endless creativity, I continued to study art and design.

When I moved to Southern California, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I started my own marketing and design company, specializing in marketing plans for up-and-coming businesses.

When I met Julia, I fell in love with her jewelry. We became fast friends, and I am thrilled to help Zhulia become a fashion-forward jewelry company.

Jewelry is every woman’s fashion signature – a way for her to express herself and her individuality.

Pearls with chains.

A variety of pearl shapes with an assortment of chain options: copper, silver, or gold. Great paired with jeans and boots, and with other pearl and chain jewelry.

The Ginny Necklace.

Great for layering with other pearl and chain jewelry!  Plus, 25% of proceeds of the silver charm necklace (5% for gold pendant) will go to the Ginny Hilfiger Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Happy Holidays!

I have always been a fan of Cameron Diaz – something about her personality and energy.  But I also am a fan of her style.  She is always coming up with young, fresh, modern looks. Like this multi-layered gold chain to the left. Fantastic.

She can usually be found wearing statement pieces, mixed with simple and modern dresses, and shirts. And she always has a pop of color in her jewelry or accessories.  Like this beauty to the right!

Pearls with Metal

I was born in a small town called Elmira, NY.  As a young adult, I naturally tended to gravitate toward math/science, not art. I ended up studying Mandarin, and then moved to Hong Kong to continue studying and learning Mandarin. After a couple years, I decided to move to Shanghai to finish my last year of university. I graduated with a diploma from State University of New York at Albany – with combined credits from studying in the U.S. and Asia.

While living overseas, I worked in many fields, because I was unable to figure out what I really wanted to do as a career. My jobs in Asia included: restaurant manager, sales in a wine company, teaching at a government run high school, working briefly at a Chinese advertising agency.  After a couple years in Shanghai, I became tired of the corporate world, so I moved back to U.S. to ponder other, more creative ways I could use my Mandarin.

While in the U.S., I traveled back and forth frequently to China.  While I was in Shanghai, I began to discover the beauty of pearls.  My interests grew, and I began importing and designing pearl jewelry for people living in the U.S.

Pearls and chains

It was then that my company, Zhulia was born.  I decided to take the obvious next step, and study at the Gemological Institute of America.  I took the Pearls and Pearl Grading program at the New York City campus, and then moved across the country to Carlsbad, California (GIA Headquarters) to attend the Applied Jewelry Arts/Jewelry design program.

My Holiday Collection focuses on mixing metals, silver and gold, with different shaped, high quality pearls.  I love mixing the feminine, organic look of pearls with the stark, modern look of metal!

I think bold shaped jewelry adds a certain modern and sophisticated style to any piece.

A lot of designers now are making these bold pieces with defined shapes, and celebrities are wearing them. Want a little bite to your jewelry collection? Try adding some bold shaped earrings to a simple outfit to vamp it up!