Opening My Design Studio

I was recently on Instagram stories saying how I frequently get asked if locals can pick up their online orders. The answer was "no" for years as I didn't want to invite people into my home to pick up their jewelry. Literally the following week Off The Mat Clothing, a locally made apparel line made from recycled materials, asked to borrow some of my jewelry for a photo shoot and I of course said yes! I brought over some of my favorite necklaces and Off The Mat Clothing owner, Lori showed me around her studio in Tequesta, Fl. She mentioned she was thinking about subleasing the front of her studio out to a local maker and I said, "look no further".

Having a retail space was not something I was looking for. My hubby and I had been tossing up not only growth opportunities for my small biz but also finding a place to store all my materials and inventory. We have a small home (that I love!) and after having Olivia, my workspace was bumped out into our living room. That means stuff EVERYWHERE and not being able to separate home from work. Our sweet babe is 15 months (I know...how the heck did that happen?!) and loves reaching her little hands onto of my desk and pulling down chain, wire cutters, etc. so the timing could not be more perfect.  

Laying out my new design space was so much fun! The studio brings in a lot of natural light and I envisioned all the colors I love; white, gold and blush pink. If only I could've painted the walls in marble. Ha! 

The studio had a bamboo look so to give it more of an AG vibe, we cleaned up the windows and painted over a bamboo mural that took up an entire wall. There's nothing better than fresh white painted walls. 

I knew I wanted to have shelving units to display my jewels. I ordered these from Ikea because the shelves were adjustable and spray painted them gold. I'll be honest, I regretted that halfway through because the gold chips off so easily. If I did it all over again I would recommend going with something that is already gold. 

I spend a lot of time at HomeGoods these days and stumbled upon this adorable pink chair. You should've seen me pushing Olivia in the shopping cart with one hand and carrying this enormous chain in the other. It was worth the effort. I searched for an 8X10 blush area rug that could handle a bit of foot traffic and found this one. Amazon Prime is life these days as a Mom so I was excited to see it was available there! 

I'm always snapping photos on our marble counter tops for social media posts, answering customer emails, reaching out to boutiques and dreaming of new pieces so I'm still not sure I'll be able to 100% separate work from home but I'm going to give it a shot!

I envisioned having my name/logo on this white wall in the studio and it really pulls everything together. ZCreate Design made this beauty for me along with some of the other acrylic signs you'll see in the studio.

If you live near the Jupiter, Fl or Tequesta, Fl area I would love for you to swing by the studio to see how it turned out and to shop our jewelry. I love online shopping but it's also nice to be able to try things on and see how they feel in person.

We're also hosting a Grand Opening Party to celebrate Thursday, October 19 from 5:30PM - 8:30PM! Come celebrate with wine (mama needs wine!), lite bites, and lots of shopping! All AG Jewelry will be 20% Off and the first 10 guests to arrive will receive a swag bag with goodies including a piece from Alexandra Gioia Jewelry, Off The Mat Mermaid Tank, Local Flo Bandeau + Tank Top and Coffee Bean Sample Packs from my favorite coffee shop, Oceana Coffee! All locally made goodies just for you. Can't wait to see you!

Alexandra Gioia
150 US HWY 1, Suite 8
Tequesta, FL 33469

Here's the area rug I have in the studio. I went with the 8X10. It fits perfectly and holds up against foot traffic. Super easy to clean too!