Iconic Israeli costume jeweler Michal Negrin, who for more than 25 years has been bringing romantic and vintage-inspired designs to the global fashion scene, is expanding her brand to a new level in the U.S. this summer. 

Negrin plans to open more than two-dozen U.S. boutique locations over the next few years. June 21 marked the opening of a location at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, and Negrins New York City flagship shop,Our tungsten rings come with a lifetime warranty. in the fashion-focused SoHo area, launches Aug. 15.Asked what has inspired her designs, Negrina native of Kibbutz Naan, a large manufacturing-focused kibbutz about 20 minutes away from Tel Avivsaid she was encouraged by her mother to create her own world. 

In 1988, with the encouragement of her husband Meir, Negrin launched her first official jewelry collection. Negrins first retail store, on Shenkin Street in Tel Aviv, was designed as a reflection of her childhood home, using that homes furnishings, clothing, pictures, and flowers to create a complete, recognizable package. The design of the first piece she sold was based on her Russian grandmothers jewelry. 

Negrin began designing jewelry as a child. Her first marketing was at street stands, as she sold her wearable art pieces one by one. Her personal life and her business career were changed forever when she met and married Meir, who took his wifes designs from street sales to a larger commercial scale. About 15 years ago, amid the growing success of the Tel Aviv store, Michal and Meir opened their factory in Bat Yam. 

Now Negrin is at the forefront of a dramatic change in the Israeli jewelry industry. In 30 years, a once male-dominated industry that was widely known as a world-class center of diamond cutting has become the domain of female designers. In addition to the pioneering work of Negrin, Aya Azrielant has been creating Mediterranean Sea-themed pieces and has gained retail placements in such prominent stores as Saks Fifth Avenue. 

I consider it very good that women have taken the lead in the industry and can express their creativity, Negrin said. Everyone can follow her own design. Israeli women are creating a new language of beauty.Negrins company now includes 60 stores in two-dozen countries worldwide, including Japan, Israel, Italy, Russia, France, Austria, Mexico, China, and the U.S. (Paramus and Atlantic City, NJ, Boston, Los Angeles, and on Aug. 15, SoHo). All of Negrins shops use the same conceptual design. 

She creates here own world of beauty and design,This handsome link tungsten bracelet for men is constructed in maintenance-free tungsten. Ifat Pasternak, marketing manager at Michal Negrin, told JNS.org. People just fall in love with Michalthe reaction is universal. 

Negrin credits her initial worldwide success to the suggestion of an Israeli man who visited her shop after traveling in Japan. The man carried her designs to Japan, where they were an immediate successtoday there are 13 Michal Negrin shops in that country. 

At the Michal Negrin Visitor Center in Bat Yam, items ranging from linens to shoes to yarmulkesand, of course, her signature jewelry and clothing linesare on display.Costume and fashion online wholesale jewelry Jewelry designs, The facility is part of the companys manufacturing complex, employing more than 400 people. Within her workforce, Michal makes a concerted effort to employ individuals with special needs and disabilities. 

The Israeli shops [in SoHo] are kind of a symbol of Israeli-Jewish entrepreneurs doing business in the city, Hanuka said. We are trying to bring the same giving Israeli spirit to the United States. Everything is done according to the ideas of thebrand: open-mindedness, love, tolerance, and respect for other cultures. They say that there is no household in Israel without some piece of Negrin jewelry or some household itemsa menorah, earrings, linenssomething. 

I want to create gallery-coffeehouses, place where people can meet, enjoy cultural events, and come together in the common language of beauty, art and culture, she said. I am proud to be a woman able to express my art and happy to see my co-designers showing the world a side of Israel that is positive and colorful. 

The petrel blues, the turquoises, the aquas C and then that uptown/downtown black, in this case a black linen duster over a Peter Max-style splashy-print silk dress. The way the hem pools at the sides a bit reminds me of the cut of Pre-Raphaelite ladies tunics; Id love to dress period for a week to see whether Id like it. 

Imagine, a week of hoop skirts a week of 1950s tailleurs a week of bustles a week of hobble skirts a week of liberated Pre-Raphaelite velvet gowns! 

The hat is so unmistakably summer in fabric and color that it doesnt get out of the hatbox as much as it should, poor thing. And the shoes C I did not get them together, honest, but even though the prints dont match, its the dissonance that makes them work better together than if they had. 

The fabric is a very textured canvas and printed like batik. [They are not the soul of comfort C oh what a dreadful pun, but is there any other kind of pun? C but they look smart hooked over the railing of a chair in a chic bistro, which is where I intend to take them!] 

And the bracelets, one from a great-aunt who had a fine eye for jewelry C the turquoise is almost Persian, its so green, but its more likely to be American. The cuff is definitely Southwest, with the rope-pattern trim and the irregularly shaped bezels, although the turquoises themselves are symmetrical.