Shirley Ephraim Designs For Donna Karan

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Feb 22nd 2011 at 1:00AM

Sometimes it's the divergent threads of an artist's life that come together to form a beautiful, creative whole. Nigerian born jewelry designer Shirley Ephraim has a fascination with woven and embroidered accessories that began in her father's village of Calabar where she spent summers among the local artisans as a young girl. She also learned the intricate craft of Spanish needle-point lace from her Costa-Rican mother at a young age. Later, in the U.S. she studied modern dance and also worked with jewelry designers. These components of her path come together in her jewelry line which features woven details and pieces with movement and drama.

Ephraim pursued an education at Parsons The New School for Design and during her studies, she interned with Donna Karan. She has a special capsule collection for Donna Karan which was featured in the Donna Karan Spring 2011 runway show and is now sold in Donna Karan stores in the U.S. and UK and online. The necklace shown at right is a long draped silk piece crocheted with crystals. It sells for $1,295.

Tags: donna karan, jewelry, jewelry designers, shirley ephraim