Bookmark This Style: Profyles

It can be tough for any new designer—or creative venture— to get exposure in today's media landscape. There are bigger brands to compete with (not to mention advertisers), and plenty of other new labels vying for attention. Enter PROFYLES—a new website launched by former Harper's BAZAAR editor Tara Lamont-Djite.

Profyles showcases the virtually unknown up-and-comers in fashion, design, art, beauty and lifestyle. As the name suggests, the site will feature a weekly profile (which also includes 10 unique, Proustian-style questions) and a daily MiniFyle, which will highlight a moment, object  or trend—consider it a daily snapshot of the covetable objects (or events) that you need to know.

We're celebrating the launch with an exclusive excerpt from one of the very first Profyles: New York-based jewelry designer Luz Ortiz (pictured above). Read below for an excerpt from the interview and follow @profyles on Instagram.

LUZ ORTIZ

"When visiting Luz Ortiz's midtown New York studio, the feeling is akin to stepping into an alternate universe. Diamond and gemstone dealers make drop offs through sliding glass windows and jewelry makers sit hunched over their machines, creating magic in the unlikeliest of places.

For Luz Ortiz, who debuted her line in 2013 after studying fashion at the Art Institute of New York City, jewelry has always been a more interesting counterpoint than clothes. "Be it a good pair of earrings or a necklace, it was always within me. I love accessories and jewelry," says the softly spoken designer, who hand makes all of her pieces in New York City. An apprenticeship with jewelry designer Robert Lee Morris followed her studies, in addition to some jewelry making classes and a stint working with Pamela Love, where she developed a passion for the process of jewelry making. Much like the iconic designer Morris—who was one of the first to partner with a fashion designer and put jewelry on the runway (Donna Karan, in fact)—Ortiz's pieces mimic the lines of the body.

To read more, head to Profyles.com....

From: Harper's BAZAAR US