Show Me the MONIES!

My love affair with the MONIES jewelry line spans over 2-decades. Stumbling upon a small display at a Chicago fashion trade show, I was captivated by the boldness, the use of natural materials, and the quality craftsmanship. I placed my first order and our partnership began!

My friend Takara's daughter, Tamiya wearing a MONIES piece from years ago.

In their earliest years, their US distributor was an unassuming guy by the name of Barry, Barry didn’t seem to have a lot of fashion pizazz, but he knew the brand well and he was vested in putting my small store on the map as a place to buy it. Over the course of time, Essential Elements gained notoriety after placing an add in N’Digo Magapaper, a weekly Chicago publication, our phones started ringing, especially for the piece that was modeled. Essence magazine often used the jewelry in fashion editorials, later, we received a huge surge after Barry had our name listed in the “Where to Buy” pages in the magazine. My friend, Barry has since passed, but the brand lives on, as I think of him, I'm sure he'd be proud.

The original ad featured in N'Digo Magazine

Hailing from Denmark, MONIES is the creation and passion of husband and wife team, Nicolai and Gerdi Monies, properly pronounced “mow nees”, it is one of the most sought after jewelry brands worldwide. 
Created from natural materials like bone, horn, leather, and ebony along with acrylic and resin, the design esthetic is like no other. Along with seasonal collections, there is also the MONIES Unique collection, one-of-a-kind pieces that not only is wearable art, they should be displayed as art when not worn. A visit to one of their stand alone stores in Paris, Germany, or Denmark is a trip to a jewelry museum, I long to go one day!

One-of-a-kind MONIES Unique necklace

I was shocked and saddened some years ago when the brand decided to no longer offer the collection to the US market, there was definitely a void- I have yet to find a brand even close. After a couple of years of being tremendously missed by myself and pouting customers, I picked up the phone and called Denmark, pleading for consideration to allow us to sell it again. With God’s favor, they honored my request and for a couple of years, the brand was only available at Essential Elements in the US.

Über-sharp crocodile embossed leather earrings from current collection.

Fast forward, they now have an amazing US sales director, and the brand is offered at carefully chosen boutiques. I’m honored to be in the MONIES family, I had the pleasure of meeting Nicolai and telling him just that. Being able to offer the line to my customers does my heart happy, one can believe, we have established a loyal fan club and now, with our website, our MONIES customer list is growing rapidly.

Here I am basking in the beauty of it all while selecting a new collection at the New York buyers show.

If you have not experienced the brand, stop in or put Monies in the search bar on our website, I think you’ll agree, there’s nothing like it! Chime in with your comments below, I love reading them!