Jewelry Designer Jennifer Meyer Maguire Chats With CBB!

Jennifer Meyer Maguire

Why wear your heart on your sleeve, when you could wear it around your neck for all the world to see!

Celebrity moms are doing just that – paying homage to their children with letter and nameplate necklaces by jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer Maguire.

A celebrity mom, herself (daughter Ruby Sweetheart is turning 3 next week, and Otis Tobias is 5 ½ months), Jennifer credits her happy home life with husband Tobey Maguire for the professional success she has enjoyed in recent years.

Celebrity Baby Blog recently chatted with Jennifer about her family-of-four, carrying on a family tradition of her own and her “crazy quest” to turn visions into a reality. Click below to read the interview.

What was the inspiration behind your initial and nameplate necklaces?

Everybody loves a piece of jewelry that represents something or someone they love. The nameplates and letter necklaces were a wonderful way to represent people in your life that you love — children, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc.

Was jewelry design something you always knew you wanted to pursue?

I have amazing memories of making jewelry with my grandma who was an artist and jewelry designer. When I was six years old, she began teaching me about jewelry making and it was something we loved doing together.

Can you walk us through your creative process?

I try to be in tune to the world around me for things that might provide inspiration. If something catches my eye, we’ll make a mold. We go through a dozen samples before the actual piece matches what I pictured in my mind. I make everyone crazy in this quest to create the perfect version of whatever it is I’m designing.

What do you feel sets your line apart?

My main focus is to create jewelry for the everyday woman, whether she works from home or in an office or whether she’s a full-time mom or someone who’s always entertaining. I try to make a little something for everyone.

Any plans in the works to design a jewelry line for moms on a budget?

It’s something I think about often and certainly plan to do in the future.

If a mom were going to splurge on one piece of jewelry, what would you recommend?

I try to design all my jewelry to be sentimental — and with special meaning. But if I were to recommend a piece for a new Mom, it would definitely be the diamond letter necklaces. They are timeless and can be layered as you add to your family!

Jennifer Meyer Jewelry Initial Necklace; Nameplate Necklace

What’s your secret for balancing family with a successful career?

I’m a firm believer that you have to put your family first. If your family is getting the love and the attention they need, everything else in your life will run smoothly.

This summer we reported on Tobey’s involvement with the effort to make school lunches healthier. What attracted you both to this initiative? And what other causes are important to you as a couple?

To our understanding, a majority of food served in lunch programs is not that healthy, which can be detrimental to the physical and mental development of our children. Setting our children up for healthy eating habits can serve them well for a lifetime. Tobey reached out to Nancy Pelosi to garner her support for this initiative, so we’re hopeful that changes will be made in our school system that will hopefully set up healthy habits for a lifetime.

We’re also very involved with a charity called Service Nation, which promotes involvement in community outreach and volunteerism. For example, Sept. 11th has now been made a National Day of Service.

We were in Seattle on Sept 11th this year and found a local outlet where we could serve the community. We distributed backpacks to children in low-income neighborhoods and Tobey was also able to read books to a class of second graders. So no matter where you are, there is always an opportunity to give back to your community with the help of Service Nation.

Our readers would love an update on Ruby and Otis! How is Ruby adjusting to being a big sister? Any new milestones to report?

Ruby is almost three and just started preschool, which is hard to believe. Luckily she loves her brother and thinks he’s one of her little baby dolls. When Otis starts crying she walks over to him and says, “It’s okay Otis, your big sister is right here.”

Otis is almost six months old. He is such a lover, he just smiles at everyone he meets and it seriously melts my heart. And really, there is nothing better in the world then seeing both my babies together. Otis is the happiest when he is with Ruby.

What do you enjoy most about being a mom?

That’s a hard question. There’s nothing I don’t love, even the sleepless nights believe it or not! I do have to say that I always knew I wanted to be a mom but nobody can ever explain how much love you actually have inside of you until you have kids. It’s a pretty incredible feeling.