My Story
Welcome to The Elegant Muse - the home of one-of-a-kind heirloom jewelry created with antique & vintage treasures!
My adventure to becoming a jewelry designer was two faceted–and both paths involved sparkle! When I was a young girl, I loved venturing to antique shops with my Mom, always being drawn to the shimmering brooches, necklaces, and earrings displayed inside the glass cases.
Once I grew older, I enjoyed a career as a professional ballet dancer and loved wearing the magnificent, jewel-studded costumes. I longed to capture that sense of elegance in my everyday life, so would sometimes wear jewelry passed down to me by the women in my family-a sparkling brooch or a pair of once-loved rhinestone earrings. But the outdated treasures mostly stayed tucked away in a drawer.
Until one day I tried on a string of my grandmother’s pearls.
The imitation pearl strand wasn’t especially extraordinary, but the clasp was exquisite! I used the clasp to create a pendant and hand-stitched the pearls into a more contemporary style. The Elegant Muse was born.
Since 2016 I’ve collected once-loved treasures from around the world and created hundreds of pieces of jewelry with them–each holding the memory of being worn by a mother, grandmother, daughter, sister or sweet friend. Recapturing past treasures and transforming them into a new, timeless style to enjoy for years to come–that’s what The Elegant Muse jewelry is all about.
Suzanne W. Paynter
Jewelry Artist
Favorite Verse?
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
Phillipians 4:8
When I'm Not Making Jewelry..?
Reading classics and British mysteries, walking, writing, traveling with my husband, visiting my grandson
Favorite Season?
Autumn (and Winter when it's snowing!)
Favorite Color?
Green
Favorite Book(s)?
Les Miserables and Count of Monte Cristo
Favorite Ballet?
Romeo and Juliet
(choreography Sir Kenneth MacMillan, music Sergei Prokofiev)