Winifred Grace’s Partners in Mexico

Designed in Chicago, produced in Cuernavaca.

Until very recently, Winifred Grace and her assistant made every single piece in her just-tough jewelry line themselves. The trouble? Scaling. So, when she randomly read about a workshop in Cuernavaca, Mexico, that employed local women to make bronze jewelry, she got in touch ASAP. “When I got my first set of samples from the workshop it was like Christmas: Every piece was more beautiful than I could have even imagined,” she explains. Meet the south-of-the-border members of the Winifred Grace team. —raquel laneri

“This is Laura, the woman who founded the workshop. She is a descendant of Benjamin Franklin and President Roosevelt. She is from Arizona; her dad was in the civil service, and she traveled the world as a child. She works with a small group of local women who have never been able to earn a living for themselves, so she’s teaching them jewelry as a trade. It’s a way to empower these women so they can earn a higher income than they would working in the fields.”

“I design the pieces at home in Chicago and send sketches with specific measurements. We do a lot of emailing back and forth with pictures, and, once we  hone in on the details, the workshop will create and send me a physical sample. Here, one of the women is soldering one of my ring designs.”

“Laura tells me that these girls have become her family. The funny thing is that after I went to study metalsmithing in San Miguel, Mexico, seven years ago, I left with this burning desire to start a workshop there with the local women. Now I’ve met Laura, and she’s done that exact thing, just in a different city.”

Get Winifred’s edition first thing tomorrow! Click this way to make sure you don’t miss it.

Winifred Grace’s Style Muse: Her Grandma

Coolness most certainly runs in the family.

Winifred Grace grew up in an art-loving family—her parents were both avid collectors—but it was her grandmother who really pushed her into the creative life. And, damn, was this is the jewelry designer’s grandma stylin’. Get a load of her look below. —raquel laneri

“My grandmother was an artist, and she had this amazing style. I don’t want to call her a hippie—because she was more sophisticated than that—but she was a bohemian. This picture of her was a studio shot, but she actually carved those little figurines out of soap, if you can believe it.”

“My grandmother always lived close to us, and she would come over and sit with my brother and I and make things. Please note her cool pinky ring and layered chains—it makes me happy. Because of her, I knew early on that I wanted to make a living making things and selling them.”

“My grandmother was sort of a tomboy. She wore men’s wallabies—they’re like suede desert boots with rubber soles and sturdy laces—with brown corduroys. She had a very unique sense of style and marched to the beat of her own drummer.”

“When her husband died when she was in her fifties, she went and lived in San Miguel, Mexico, in an artist community, where she took all sorts of classes at the art institute there. Seven or eight years ago, I went to San Miguel and took metalsmithing classes in the same exact classroom that my grandmother had taken classes. It was a very cool thing.”

“When I went down to Mexico to take metalsmithing classes, my mom brought this sculpture my grandmother made, which weighed, I don’t know, 75 pounds. We brought it to the art institute, and the son of the man who taught my grandma during the sculpture class made a mold of it and made copies so that I could have one and my brother could have one. I have it in my studio.”

“This is one of my all-time favorite photos of her, sipping coffee with her kerchief on. I wore a kerchief like that for years before I ever saw this picture. Though she’s no longer living, I feel very connected to her. I channel her taste a lot—a lot of the pieces I make, I can see her wearing, which makes me really proud.”

Winifred’s crazy-wearable edition comes tomorrow! Make sure you don’t miss it.

Monica Ruzansky’s Rockin’ Guide to Mexico City

A half dozen places you just gotta hit.

For the jewelry designer Monica Ruzansky, there’s no place like home. And though she finds New York plenty appealing, the exuberance of her native Mexico City has no rival. “The energy, the food, the nightlife—it’s addictive,” explains the mastermind behind AILI’s pared-down gems. So book a trip, visit six of Monica’s fave spots, and don’t be surprised if you never want to leave. —mattie kahn

Contramar
“This delicious place is on the fancy side but still casual. Every time I go back to Mexico, I have to visit it. Make sure to get the soft-shell crab taquitos, tuna sashimi, and the zihuatanejo tiritas—fish cured in lime. They also make their own fluffy and tasty tortillas. And all of this is best when you accompany it with a clamato-michelada.” (Durango 200, Roma, Cuauhtémoc)

La Ostra
“This is a more casual restaurant. I love this place for the aguachile de camarón, which is raw shrimp cured in lime and chili powder. I could easily eat an order for myself and not share.” (Nuvo Leon 109, Cuauhtémoc)

La Lagunilla Market
“La Lagunilla is a really great flea market, where you’ll find all kinds of Mexican vintage objects, old movie props, furniture, toys, clothing… I also go there to visit one of the regulars who sells stones and has an amazing selection of minerals.” (Rayón and Allende)

Mercado de Sonora
“This market is fascinating! It’s divided into different sections. On one side, there are traditional Mexican toys and piñatas. And on the other, there are all sorts things for white and black magic. You can find anything from soaps to attract love, amulets or herbs for any kind of medical condition…I highly recommend it.” (Fray Servando Teresa de Mier 419, Merced Balbuena)

Parque de Chapultepec
“The one place not to be missed is the Parque de Chapultepec. It is the biggest national park in Mexico. Have some flour chicharrones with valentine—a spicy sauce—as a snack while you go for a stroll around the lake, and then go up the hill to the castle for a magnificent view of the city. The castle is now a museum that was once the home of Maximiliano, the ill-fated emperor of Mexico.” (Periodista, Miguel Hidalgo)

Covadonga
“One place where I like to hang out with my friends is an old Spanish restaurant and cantina called Covadonga. You can still find men playing dominos. It is a simple but authentic bar—there is no music, but between the conversations of the crowd, you can hear the domino pieces falling, like a soundtrack to the night.” (Puebla 115, Roma Norte, Cuauhtémoc)

Monica’s edition travels well. Get her ruby triangle necklace while you can.

Of a Kind

Tulum: Thanks to Dezso, you can take it with you. —erica

Tirana Jewelry

We’re not saying that naming your line after yourself is a bad thing. We’re just noting that if you have an un-ironic DJ name you once used while spinning cheesy music from the eighties, that’s a pretty honeyed alternative. Meet Graciela Fuentes—formerly known as La Tirana, Spanish for “female tyrant”—who, even during her beat-droppin’ days, always knew she would be an artist. After earning a BFA from Word University in Texas, landing an MFA from NYU, and dabbling in photography and video production, she found herself drawn to more industrial vibe—one that recalls the backdrop of her hometown, Monterrey, Mexico. “It’s a bit of nostalgia for seeing these machines—you can look at them and see how they work. Looking at my iPhone, I have no idea how I’m even talking on it,” Graciela explains.

After a few years working primarily on computers with digital media arts, Graciela yearned to create something physical. One carved alabaster ring later, the creative spark caught fire, laying the groundwork for Tirana Jewelry. Her favorite part of her process: Sourcing antique pieces from flea markets the world over. Those scores, kept in a sacred drawer in her Williamsburg studio, are then molded and cast in recycled silver, gold, and bronze to be sculpted and soldered into brand new pieces—for a line that’s romantic, steampunk, and tough all at once. “I like the idea of a female tyrant because I don’t think it has a bad historic connotation like the male tyrant,” Graciela says. “A female tyrant is a little bit more of a woman in power, a woman that knows what she wants, a woman that can get her way.” —jackie varriano

tiranajewelry.com

Lauren Wolf

Lauren Wolf has always had a decisive personality. “My mom says that when I was little she’d never buy me clothes or anything because I was always so opinionated,” says the 32-year-old Oakland-based designer. So when a friend told her about an artist community in San Miguel, Mexico, that offered silversmithing classes, Lauren didn’t think twice about abandoning a career in advertising to head south of the border in 2002. “I had studied journalism and anthropology in school,” she says. “But as soon as I heard about learning jewelry-making in Mexico, it wasn’t even a question: I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

It’s that same uncompromising self-assuredness that makes Lauren’s designs for her eponymous label, which she launched two years after taking the jewelry plunge, so badass: spikey silver stingray necklaces, gold bear-claw pendants, studs made with precious black pearls or unpolished ruby. Some of her boldness also comes from years spent honing her craft—after an intense six months in Mexico, she moved to New York City to further her studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology and did eight years in the city before moving to Oakland, where she now also owns a boutique.

Lately, Lauren’s expanded her business to include custom work, which means she has had to learn to curb her more stubborn tendencies. “It’s kind of daunting to create outside your normal box,” she says. But the intrepid designer who mixes diamonds with anaconda bones has always relished a challenge. “It always ends up much better than you think.” —raquel laneri

laurenwolfjewelry.com

Scout & Catalogue Delivers the Ultimate Puerto Vallarta Tour

No, really—just try to top it.

Puerto Vallarta has gone from sleepy fishing town to one of Mexico’s hotspots, and while most guides will tell you to take a walk on the Malecon (you really should) or wander the streets of the picturesque Zona Romantica, Scout & Catalogue’s Breanna Musgrove made PV her home for long enough to learn its secrets. Here, she spills them, along with pics from her time in the country. —jackie varriano

Bonus: Breanna’s edition—a hand-dyed clutch—is perfect for any vacation you might be planning.

Complimentary tequila and a little R&R on the rooftop patio of Hotel Hafa in Sayulita.

SLEEPING 

Hacienda San Angel: “This boutique hotel is situated right behind the main church. Get ready for a fantastic dinner on a rooftop terrace with views of the mountains and the sun setting into the Bay of Banderas.”

A Mexican folk art shop in the beautiful colonial town of San Sebastian.

SHOPPING 

Fabric Stores: “If you are interested in anything DIY, you will be in heaven in Mexico. Check out Parisina, Moda Telas, and Super Telas, as well as the amazing notion stores that sell every type of ribbon, glitter, or button your heart desires.”

Querubines: “One of my favorite stores! They carry a beautiful selection of folk craft, antiques, and other quirky finds from all over Mexico.”

Tlaquepaque: “My other favorite shop in the city is Tlaquepaque. The shop is filled with pottery, wooden toys, and glassware from the Tlaquepaque region of Guadalajara.”

A typical Mexican market, similar to the one located across the street from the local cemetery.

EATING 

Café Oro Verde: “The best coffee in the city comes from Café Oro Verde—the proprietors have been making coffee for the last 19 years from beans harvested in the Sierra Madre.”

Tortillerias: “I always make sure to drop into a tortilleria and grab a half kilo of fresh tortillas to have in the hotel room. A half kilo will set you back about 5 pesos and should be more than enough. If you don’t speak Spanish, just repeat after me, ‘Medio kilo, porfa.”

A beautiful quiet beach found along the road south of PV heading towards Mismaloya.

SUNNING 

Hidden (Public!) Beaches: “A little known fact about Mexico is that no one can lay claim to the beach. Some of the best beaches in Puerto Vallarta lay just south of the city. Check out Mismaloya and Boca de Tomatlan, or take a water taxi to Yelapa. In order to dissuade the common man from sharing their beautiful beaches, most property owners try to hide the trails down to the water. How do you find them? Just keep an eye out for large collections of cars parked inconveniently along the side of the road. Where there are cars, there is a beach.”

Scout & Catalogue

Some of us go to Mexico only to return sunburnt with a handful of leftover pesos in the bottom of our carry-on. But for Breanna Musgrove, the boho-minded girl behind accessories line Scout & Catalogue, a stay south of the border—Puerto Vallarta!—with her boyfriend in 2008 spawned a business.

“For the first five months, I went to Spanish school a little bit, read a ton, slept, and just kind of got over the amount of manic energy I had been putting into my career,” she says, reflecting on the job she left behind in Vancouver as creative director of Aritzia. But after that decompression phase, Breanna’s creative energy kicked into overdrive, leading her to explore the plentiful fabric warehouses in the area, to dive into dyeing, and to post her creations on a blog, Scout & Catalogue—as she explains, “I was scouting a new culture and then cataloguing it.”

Now based in Toronto, her project has turned into a full-fledged business, with hand-dyed scarves and custom-sewn leather pouches leading the way. What’s the aesthetic, exactly? “The idea of being a little bit rumpled,” Breanna says. “I think it’s just trying to capture that beauty in being undone.” —jackie varriano

scoutandcatalogue.com

Lisa Levine

Though Lisa Levine probably wouldn’t consider herself as much of a businesswoman as a healer, hand-crafting jewelry has always been lucrative for the Pittsburgh native—both spiritually and in the more standard, money-in-the-bank sense. “When I was a child, I could draw or paint or create to help me clear any bad emotions,” Lisa says in her six-inch voice. “I started making jewelry as a little kid and even selling it.”

Before taking things further as an adult and opening her eponymous Metropolitan Avenue jewelry store in Brooklyn in 2005, Lisa spent a year at Parsons and later shipped off to San Miguel de Allende—an idyllic artist community in Mexico—to study silversmithing with the legendary Billy King.

After a three-year run, Lisa closed her store and took “a 90% break” from designing to focus on breath work and Reiki more intensively, and now her cozy Greenpoint loft is home to a healing center, a yoga and meditation space, and her design studio. The jewelry thing is such a part of who she is that trying to escape it would be plain silly—luckily, all of her endeavors, with their open-endedness, meld together quite nicely. Or, as she puts it, “There’s a lot of positivity and healing that goes into making the jewelry. You can feel if there’s love in it.” —lauren caruso

lisalevinejewelry.com