Mara grew up surrounded by spectacular contemporary fine art and renowned artists in her mother's gallery, Trudy Labell Fine Art and found personal artistic expression through jewelry making. In her 20s, she spent a year backpacking around the world, from the Trans-Siberian railroad, to the far western ethnic provinces of China, to the serene beauty of Indonesia to the mountain tribes of New Guinea. These travels off the beaten path still inform her daring, kinetic pieces. 

For the past 12 years, Labell has designed fashion pieces wild and alive with movement. Dramatic collars drape just below the neck, cuffs sparkle with pearls or disks, fiercely graceful and untamed. Both feature the lattice-stitch base made with tiny glass beads to allow drape, one of her signature, copyrighted designs.

Recently, Labell has turned to 18-karat gold and diamonds to create understated collections that glisten with striking beauty and minimalist grandeur. The Dangerous Curves with 18-karat gold curved tubes moving like ripples in a river. Your Daily Diamonds, a collection featuring single or layered strands of sparkling Turkish gold and diamonds—cubed or faceted—in various colors.

Although the jewelry collections oscillate between two aesthetics—one statement, one understated—that doesn’t mean one style is meant to be worn daily, the other saved for special events. Even if it’s just around the house, Labell encourages people to wear the jewelry. She wants people to wear statement jewelry everyday if it makes them feel beautiful or happy.

Labell inherited a belief in universal beauty from her mother, and her jewelry has a poignant power to make people feel beautiful, strong, or self-assured. With her exquisite collections, Labell conjures radiance, strength, happiness, and intimacy. And though she lauds those who purchase jewelry for their partners, most of all, she encourages women to gift it to themselves as a tangible reminder of one’s own beauty and self-worth.