Long before she was a First Lady, Melania Trumpspent years quietly honing a skill that would later become central to her lesser-known business venture: jewelry design.
Melania, 55, is best known for being the wife of President Donald Trump, and for her success as a fashion model when she was younger.
But it turns out, Melania has a secret passion for architecture and design, which she studiedat the University of Ljubljana – one of Slovenia’s most prestigious and academically rigorous institutions – long before she was famous.
Those early studies, she has said, sparked a passion in her that would eventually inspire her to launch her own jewelry line, Melania Timepieces & Fashion Jewelry, in 2010.
‘Well, I always say you need to do whatever your passion is, whatever you love to do,’ she revealed in a resurfaced 2012 interview withJetset Magazine.
‘I studied architecture and design, and it’s always in me to design, to sketch, to bring ideas to life, and that’s what I did with my jewelry line.’
Melania’s collection blended her love of fashion with her sharp eye for design and a hands-on approach to entrepreneurship.
The First Lady said she was involved in every step of the process, from concept to completion.
Before she was a First Lady, Melania Trump was quietly honing a skill that would later become central to her lesser-known business venture: jewelry design
Her collection was said to be inspired by her homes in New York and Palm Beach, as well as her own pieces, perPalm Beach Daily News.
‘It’s great fun. It’s very creative for me. I’m involved from A to Z for every piece that I design, so I’m very involved in everything that I do,’ she added.
‘It’s my name, it’s my brand and I’m very, very picky about it and I know what I want. I want to achieve what I really want, so it’s very important, so I am on top of it.’
The jewelry line launched on QVC in 2010 and sold out within 45 minutes, per The Cut.
Though it was ultimately short-lived, Melania brought a deep level of involvement and pride to the brand, crediting her design education as the backbone of her success.
‘I want women to look chic when they’re on the go. When they play with their children, when they are wives at home, everywhere, so something they can really afford and they spoil themselves with is what I wanted to create,’ Melania said.
‘They don’t need to ask anybody if they could buy it for themselves. They could go and buy something under $200 and have fun with the jewelry.
‘So that’s why I created that, to reach women across the world and spoil them and make them look beautiful and chic.’
Melania has a secret passion for architecture and design, whichinspire her to launch her own jewelry line, Melania Timepieces & Fashion Jewelry, in 2010. One of her jewelry pieces is seen
Melania continued to Palm Beach Daily News: ‘It is a very versatile and affordable collection.’
The prices ranged from just under $30 to $200.
In 2017, soon after her husband became president, it was revealed that the company that made her watches and jewelry had cut ties with her.
‘There is no longer a relationship,’ an executive with Long Island-based MZ Berger & Co. LLC said, per McClatchy DC.
The company had manufactured watches under license for her brand Melania Marks Accessories LLC.
They added that the contract was ‘allowed to expire.’
A White House spokesperson also said at the time, ‘Melania Marks Accessories LLC is not currently doing any business and the First Lady’s former jewelry line is no longer active.
‘To be clear, the First Lady has no intention of using her position for profit and will not do so. It is not a possibility. Any statements to the contrary are being misinterpreted.’
