Whether or not you’re a Bravoholic or not, odds are you realize The Actual Housewives of Salt Lake Metropolis star Meredith Marks’ designs. Her jewellery has been worn by the likes of Rihanna, Courteney Cox and Chelsea Handler and he or she’s been increasing her beloved namesake model (and fashionable Salt Lake Metropolis boutique) with equipment, clothes and coming quickly — a espresso product and a shower line.
For the Bravo-obsessed, you realize and love her as a forged member of the Salt Lake Metropolis Housewives franchise. Over her three seasons on the present, viewers have seen a peek into her enterprise, with cameras filming marketing campaign shoots, vogue reveals and extra. However GRAZIA USA caught up with the fact star on the way it all started — from launching her model to signing up for the present and what it’s carried out for her enterprise. Get to know the actual Marks, beneath (and sure, there’s RHOSLC season 3 speak, too!).
Followers of the Bravo present know that Marks has her legislation diploma (and it turns out to be useful many occasions all through the collection) and in addition bought a joint enterprise college diploma. However when she realized she “cherished the legislation in principle far more than in apply,” her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he or she began a Pilates studio in her native Chicago. It become a full-scale well being membership however one scary incident modified every little thing.
“One morning, I used to be mugged after I dropped my oldest son off in school, strolling in what you assume can be a really secure neighborhood, and I used to be dragged throughout the road. It was fairly aggressive,” Marks shares with GRAZIA USA. “So I noticed at that second that I wasn’t actually doing what I used to be obsessed with, and that jewellery was my ardour.”
Marks bought “every little thing off” together with her well being membership in addition to actual property improvement initiatives she was engaged on to focus solely on jewellery. “I studied on the GIA [The Gemological Institute of America], and dove in head first, and simply did it.”
She credit her love of bijou to her mom and great-grandmother. “My great-grandmother had this museum-quality amethyst ring. Once I was younger, my mother had a number of items from Marina B, one in all which was a pair of earrings the place you would change out the colour of the gemstone drop on the underside. And I assumed that was the best factor I had ever seen in my life. That actually was my inspiration to creating the flexibility that I put into my assortment, so I owe so much to my mom and to my great-grandmother. They cherished jewellery, and so they created that keenness in me.”
Marks even remembers strolling to Neiman Marcus whereas finding out at Northwestern and shopping the jewellery division throughout lunch. “I’d simply have enjoyable and look and revel in. It’s simply at all times been my ardour. It’s at all times been my love,” she says.
Launching a line in 2009 through the recession was no straightforward feat, however it impressed a few of Marks’ most beloved items like the primary one she ever created (and nonetheless makes at this time), the Mary Teardrop Earrings. “Folks needed assertion items, however they didn’t need to put in [a lot of] cash, so I included destructive area into my designs to attempt to give some substance and measurement to it.”
Later, she crammed in items with stones or steel, however the true key to her course of has to do with three issues: operate, versatility and creating stone-centric designs.
“The Magnifique assortment that I simply launched has a magnifying glass within the middle in order that I can learn the menu within the restaurant, which has grow to be just a little more difficult at my age now,” she says with fun of the performance parts. She creates two-sided items and patented a clasp known as the Kristina Clasp for max versatility in her jewellery.
“Typically I discover a stone that I fall in love with, and I create a design round that,” she provides about her course of. “I did a complete assortment after a sample I noticed on the ground of the Sistine Chapel, and I did one other assortment on a chunk of foliage that I picked up on a climbing path. Inspiration’s in every single place, and that’s how I design. It’s simply with every little thing round me, whether or not it’s operate, versatility, or simply being impressed from the issues I see.”
Now 12 years in, she’s expanded with a vogue line with extra inexpensive price-points as an alternative choice to the high quality jewellery line. Plus, she now gives outerwear and equipment as effectively. “We’re actually engaged on making a full life-style model. Espresso is unquestionably within the works,” Marks assures. “That’s been just a little difficult with the availability chain, particularly as a result of I’m attempting to tie that again to ladies’s causes. I actually need to use a farm that’s predominantly woman-run, so including that issue with provide chain points makes it just a little bit extra sophisticated.”
She’s additionally increasing her spa assortment, which sure, will embrace bathtub merchandise (for anybody who doesn’t know, Marks loves a shower tub second). “We had began with some robes and a few eye masks, and now, we’re going to get into another magnificence issues and a shower like assortment, haircare and a candle collab. I’m very busy, and I’m attempting very arduous to get all of it on the market.”
A method getting her title on the market has modified in an enormous approach was by becoming a member of the forged of the brand-new metropolis within the Bravo franchise which premiered in 2020. “It type of, luckily, shifted the entire focus of my enterprise, as a result of pre-COVID, we have been actually very a lot event-based,” she explains. “I might throw luncheons or events everywhere in the world with my jewellery, and other people would come and store, or simply study concerning the model. After which COVID hit, and clearly, that was not going to occur anymore. So I used to be lucky, as a result of the publicity by the present actually allowed me to pivot to [sell] extra on-line. As a result of even promoting in shops, they have been all closed. That was undoubtedly a blessing and a saving grace from the present.”
Happily it labored out for Marks, as a result of she admits she actually didn’t know what she bought herself into by becoming a member of the present. “I’ll be completely sincere, I had by no means watched Housewives,” she says. “I did watch one episode from each franchise a few month earlier than we began filming, however I by no means watched a full season, which was undoubtedly a mistake. Or possibly not, I don’t know. Typically I really feel prefer it’s finest to not be watching, as a result of I believe it kind of jades your outlook and your view and the way in which you do issues.”
Whereas she had “no clue” what she signed up for, she would do all of it once more. “I imply, you’ve your ups and your downs, and in case you catch me on a down day, I might need been like, ‘no,’ however it’s an expertise that most individuals don’t get an opportunity to do,” she explains. “In my opinion, it was a car that I might use to drive my enterprise and to drive consideration to the charitable endeavors that I’ve labored on. There are issues I like concerning the present, and there are issues I don’t love a lot. And on the finish of the day, you must take the unhealthy with the great. General, I believe it’s optimistic. I believe that I’ve been capable of get quite a lot of messages on the market that I really feel are essential. For those who may help one individual by shedding gentle on an expertise or a problem that may make me really feel not so alone, that, to me, is large.”
This season, she will get to advertise the ADR Basis, based by her sister and nephew, which helps psychological well being and dependancy. Marks threw a vogue present to lift consciousness, which she known as her “absolute favourite second” of the season.
As for essentially the most difficult a part of season 3, she says it was coping with castmates who added which means to her phrases. “Each Whitney [Rose] and Lisa [Barlow] imputed which means into my phrases that simply wasn’t there, and so they preserve saying, ‘Properly, your intentions are.’ No, I do know what my intentions are, and also you don’t. You’re not inside my head. I imply what I say. It was very powerful to undergo and simply really feel like any individual else is telling you what you assume, what you are feeling, what you’re saying once they’re mistaken.”
As for her altering friendships this season she is aware of followers are having “hassle getting their head round” how she reconciled with Jen Shah and he or she hasn’t with Barlow (following Barlow’s sizzling mic moment in season 2), however says “hopefully, that’s far more flushed out at reunion.”
“However the backside line is, Jen and I had quite a lot of moments and quite a lot of issues that we related on, and he or she additionally was very open about what the problems have been. And Lisa simply saved saying, ‘There’s nothing mistaken, there’s no downside.’ However but, all yr, possibly even 18 months main as much as her tantrum, I saved asking her, ‘What was mistaken? Why are you so hostile in direction of me?’ And he or she saved saying, ‘It’s not me, it’s you. You’re hostile.’ And ‘We’re good, we’re good, we’re good.’ And clearly, we weren’t good. So it was just a little arduous for me to reconcile that, and he or she nonetheless received’t actually give me something of substance there. So then I stated, ‘Okay, effectively, let’s transfer on and simply take it at face worth.’ She selected to take sure actions that I’ve a sense will probably be revealed at reunion. However I don’t know if they may or received’t; I don’t management [editing].”
She says followers can count on “quite a lot of sudden twists and turns” on the reunion however thinks “a few of it will likely be very a lot what’s anticipated.”
Including, “It’s simply attention-grabbing. It’s human notion. And this present is sort of a research on human habits as a result of all of us have our personal interpretations of our actions, and then you definately see how different individuals interpret them, and possibly one thing within the center is what’s proper, you realize?”
The Actual Housewives of Salt Lake Metropolis season 3 finale airs Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
