About

Carly J. Mills - Designer

MIA CARLITA

 

Carly’s design style is influenced by her southern California lifestyle. She was raised by bohemian parents in Venice and Santa Monica in the 1970s. Her dad was a filmmaker and her mom an actress and painter. They encouraged and fostered her creativity. She showed passion for jewelry design early in life and started making jewelry as a child, selling pieces to family and friends. Her education is in Fashion Design and Merchandising. She is a member of the Motion Picture Costume Union, IATSE Local 705 and has worked in the Costume Department of Film and Television for 20 years styling some of Hollywood's finest. 

At 19, she started working with designer Steven Hanna at Accents Jewelry Design in Santa Monica, California. There she learned the lost wax casting technique and fell in love with it. Now she hand sculpts her designs in wax and casts them in chunky silver, gold and gold vermeil.  Her process is to let the wax speak to her, working with it instead of against it, which adds to the fluidity of her designs. She also finds inspiration in objects found in nature. She's known for bold chunky silver designs that can be worn casually, and express personal style. She believes in making high quality, timeless pieces that will last lifetimes.