Tell us about your HART pieces. What do the charms signify to you? Where or how are you excited to wear them?

I was really excited about the frog charm… my mom had silly clay frogs in her garden when she was older and my girls would think of her whenever they saw something frog-like. “Gaga likes frogs!” It was sweet – more their own memory than mine but it makes me smile all the same… And going back to the charm bracelet my mother would not cross the state line without… she also had a little basket on it so the BASKET also reminds me of her. And the snail… I chose it for myself because I am the OPPOSITE of a snail. I move (and talk!) too quickly for everyone. It is my reminder to slow down. And lastly – I really, really love the pretty oyster shell with the pearl. In fact I think it is my favorite. I did not taste an oyster until I was 20 years old, if you can believe that. The ritual and the exoticness of it was pretty memorable. It felt like an adventure!

There’s a lived-in ease to everything you design. How do you strike that balance between classic and current?

I am very, very classic in my style, absolutely – but I was a fashion editor for a dozen years and I also love what feels new and fresh and “of the moment!” We all tire of something over and over again and I absolutely FEEL things looking just right for the moment. The width of pants… a certain hit of color… sometimes I will crave pattern and punch and texture… and other times I just want clean lines and black and white. It is fun to switch it up.

You and your husband Sid built this world together, starting with a men’s shop and evolving into something much bigger. What feels important to protect as the brand continues to grow? How do you scale while retaining your authenticity? 

Such a great question and thank you for asking that… we still feel like we have a “young” business – but we have been doing it for nearly two decades! We started this business all in and committed to each other that we would rather fail than make compromises on the CREATIVE part of it… we have built it as a reflection of who we are and what we see… so I think if we keep making THOSE decisions things will work out as they should. In business there are so many ups and downs and compromises… but if you have a point of view, you need to stick with it. It really is all we have that makes us who we are… you can buy clothing from millions of places – we just hope to keep doing what we do that looks like us and it will resonate with the like-minded. It is a delight to keep making things and sharing them. So much hard work and so many mistakes… but we both still love the actual creative part of the process so much.

You’re a mother of five daughters along with being a founder and fashion designer. How has motherhood shaped your work and/or creative process?

Motherhood isn’t the life meant for everyone – but it has brought me the greatest joy along with the greatest suffering. It is pretty remarkable. I was so blown away by it in the beginning that I left my job at Condé Nast to stay at home with my daughters for a spell. My own mother was a huge influence on me creatively – she was constantly making stuff. She painted and sewed and crafted and we moved every two years so she let us do up our rooms ANY way we wanted. It was just in her DNA and I think I inherited a lot of that. But for me, I think Sid and I have created a company… we employ a LOT of people… and the desire to keep this thing going and work with our daughters and pass it down to them as they continue to want to be involved… that is kind of cool. We work a lot in Italy and the romance of the family company really rubbed off on us. Motherhood has also given me a healthy sense of perspective – two of my daughters were diagnosed with a super rare neurodegenerative disease about 9 years ago when they were in their early twenties. They are in wheelchairs now and live at home with Sid and me so caregiving is another job I have and will continue to have. There are lots of kinds of work! Even this is creative – I am constantly looking for ways to make our life together more beautiful.

When you think about a perfect day in Atlanta, from your first coffee to your nighttime routine, what does it look like, and what are you wearing?

I love Saturdays… I will start out in some sort of athletic get-up and race around the house doing chores… tidying and snipping things in my garden to put in little vases… taking the dog on a walk and maybe getting even a bit more of a run in. I will move on to a bathing suit in the late afternoon because I LOVE to swim and I will never get over the fact that I have a pool in my backyard! We have great estate sales here in Atlanta so often I will grab my oldest daughter and we will pop in and see what we can find. Sid and I typically have a date Saturday night and so I will hop in the pool again before dinner, take a bath, and change into something special enough for him to look across the table at me and tell me how beautiful I look. Maybe it is just jeans and a classic shirt – but I will have great shoes on (I have a great collection!) and something sparkly on my ears… and a fresh coat of bright pink lipstick (REVLON 457).