Local Treasure: Dana Rebecca Designs

	Inside Levy’s new office/showroom in the Omni Hotel
	Emily Sarah bracelets with diamonds and blue sapphires
	Courtney Lauren earrings with diamonds and green turquoise

Entrepreneur Dana Levy was destined for success. “I grew up on Jewelers’ Row,” 27-year-old Levy says of life with her father, one of the industry’s top diamond manufacturers. “I traveled with my dad to buy diamonds all over the world: Israel, Switzerland, India.” Still, Levy is more than a little surprised at the accomplishments of her five-year-old jewelry company, Dana Rebecca Designs. “I never thought that I would be here today.”

“Here” is in the top ranks of independent jewelry designers. Levy’s pieces—which embody a playful, eye-catching sophistication— are sold in a dozen stores across the country (in Chicago at Marshall Pierce & Company and Frances Heffernan), and an expansion into Asian markets is also in the works. She’s been lauded in such top fashion magazines as InStyle, Elle, GQ, and Martha Stewart Weddings; her Jessica Leigh earrings were included in “Oprah’s Favorite Things” in 2010; and her line has been worn by a slew of A-list celebrity fans, including Anne Hathaway, Zoe Saldana, Charlize Theron, Emma Stone, and Olivia Wilde. Though she’s represented by a New York City showroom, she recently solidified her Chicago base with the opening of her brand-new office/ showroom in the Omni Hotel building.

With the help of friend Carrie Ratliff (owner of the Chicago-based design firm Interior Spaces), Levy’s new office is as chic as her baubles, with tufted faux-leather wallpaper, hot pink custom wingback chairs, and white lacquered surfaces that draw the eye to the display cases of bright, colorful jewelry.

Color, in fact, is one of the major differences between Levy’s jewelry aesthetic and her father’s. “My dad does fine jewelry, but it’s everyday engagement rings and diamond earrings,” she says. “Sometimes when he travels with me [on gem-buying trips to Hong Kong and India], he’ll say, ‘What are you going to do with this [stone]? That’s nuts!’ But even if it is wild and different, I stand behind everything I do.”

Levy often takes risks in buying unconventional stones and gems— green turquoise, pink opal, blue topaz, and a bevy of imperfect stones ideal for carving—and turning them into bold pieces that are fashion statements unto themselves. (Levy loves the look of jeans, a black blazer, and a pair of fun, bold earrings.) “My clients lately have said they’re spending less on clothes,” Levy says, “because my earrings make the look.”

Wearability is central to Levy’s jewelry design mission. “I launched Dana Rebecca under the notion that I was going to create jewelry that didn’t just sit in jewelry boxes,” Levy says. “I always loved my mother’s and grandmother’s pieces, but they were so dressy.”

True to her vision, Dana Rebecca has seen its oh-sosimple necklace, the Lauren Joy Mini (all of her pieces are named for her good friends and/or style inspirations) adorn the necks of Hollywood stars like Demi Moore and Mila Kunis, not just on the red carpet, but in everyday life. And although each item is wearable, each is not necessarily for everyone. “Some people say rose gold is so trendy right now,” Levy explains. “[But] I think rose gold and yellow gold look best on some people who should never wear white gold. It’s like saying black is the best color for everyone. I look terrible in a black dress! I like to fit women in jewelry that complements their skin and what they wear.”

As far as Levy’s own accessorizing, she prefers to keep it simple. Far from dripping in jewels—“I don’t want people to feel like I’m trying to sell them jewelry,” she says—her everyday accessories consist of her Lauren Joy Mini and Sylvie Rose necklaces, yellow-gold pavé Carly Michelle earrings, Samantha Lynn bracelet, and Carly Michelle evil eye bracelet. “I am very superstitious about my evil eye, so it is always on me,” she says. But for a special occasion, Levy definitely pulls out the showstoppers. “No doubt about it, I will wear an amazing pair of earrings to a wedding,” she says. “But for everyday, I feel comfortable in simpler studs, and it makes getting dressed very easy.”

With her company and her fame growing at warp speed, the obvious question becomes: What’s next for the Dana Rebecca brand? “There are so many more cities in the world [to get into],” Levy says. But four years after selling her first piece—a pair of coral Rachel Beth earrings right out of her ears at a nail salon—she’s still a hometown girl at heart. “I’m really grateful to Chicago for being so supportive,” she says.