My name is Lucy Kelly, and I am the owner/artist of bel monili by l.marlane. I hand-craft jewelry and accessories using vintage and re-purposed materials, including vintage earrings, chain, books, buttons, flowers, and much more. Each item I make is uniquely one of a kind, making it an affordable piece of wearable art.

In "real life", I am a speech-language pathologist in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. I had the joy of working in a public elementary school for 7 years, and in the summer of 2014 I resigned from my position at the school to pursue more full time dedication to my jewelry business. I am now enjoying my life as an independent contractor, conducting evaluations part time for the birth-three population in my area while I dedicate the rest of my time to my family and my business!

In November 2013 my life changed forever when I got engaged to the love of my life, my high school sweetheart. We split up after high school, but we never lost touch and remained close over the years. Finally, in August 2013, the stars all seemed to align and we got back together again. Now, we are happily making our home in the suburbs of Pittsburgh as newlyweds (married April 11, 2015!) and are thrilled to have welcomed a new love of our lives: Evelyn Agnes was born on January 28, 2016. Affectionately known as "Baby bel", little Evelyn is the moon and stars to us.

HISTORY:
I had the incredible joy and fortune to grow up appreciating art and antiques at my grandmother's knee. When I was a child, my grandmother (Bubbie) had a little antique shop about 5 houses down from our home. This had been her dream: to open a small shop where she could buy and sell the things that she thought were beautiful. Oh, how lucky I was to be able to run down the sidewalk and be in her store! Bubbie would take me with her when she went on "buying trips", where people would call and she would go to meet them and make her selections. I remember people asking her, "how do you know what to buy?", and her answer was invariably, "I buy what I love." I learned at this young age that value is not necessarily measured in traditional dollars, rather it is in how much your heart can connect with something.

Before Bubbie had her antique shop, years before I was a twinkle in my mother's eye, Bubbie was herself an incredibly talented artisan. She had an amazing talent for sewing high fashion clothing items (the collection of 1950s-60s-70s gems she created are second to none) and was an accomplished painter. Bubbie loved painting ceramics and even had a small kiln in their basement. I have a small collection of her works on my bureau today, and these are my most treasured possessions. Bubbie was a true entrepreneur, having a home-based business years before it came en vogue.

Fast forward to 2010, when I had some time on my hands and a lifelong creative spark that was yearning to be ignited into a raging fire of craft. I decided to take a few classes on the basics of jewelry making, and the rest is history. Since then, I have been able to combine my life long love of vintage and antique baubles with my passion for making jewelry. Today I am on a never-ending search for midcentury costume jewelry, enamel brooches, clip-on earrings, and anything else that catches my eye. I would like to think that Bubbie would be proud of me when I get a phone call from one of my "regulars" to come out and see what treasures they have lined up for me.

I invite you to look through my shop and see if you can feel the genuine love I put into each piece. bel monili is my passion, and I would love to share that with you!