Meet Meredith Marks, Jewelry Designer and Real Housewife of Salt Lake City

Although you may recognize Meredith Marks as one of Bravo’s newest faces on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, that is just one of the many roles Meredith plays day in and day out. Along with being the ‘queen of disengaging’, Meredith is the sole designer for her line of fine jewelry, opened her own brick and mortar store in Park City, Utah all the while being a present wife and mother to three children.

I sat down with Meredith to talk all things jewelry, inspiration and the path that lead her to pursuing a career in the jewelry industry. Meredith’s past is equally as interesting as her present and I am so excited for you to get to know more about this amazing and multi-faceted woman.

EH: Something some people may not know about you is that you earned both a law degree and a MM from Northwestern University. Those degrees demand a lot of time, energy and dedication. Did you see yourself owning your own business or did you try a more corporate career first?

Meredith Marks: Well I started undergrad as a fine arts major and pretty quickly switched out of it because I wasn’t sure how to turn that into a career. I went to law school and business school thinking I was going to go down the business path and for a while I was doing exactly that. I was in real estate development and I owned a health club but then I was mugged one morning and it was a real wake up call for me and forced me to reexamine my life.

EH: I’m so sorry it happened that way, that is a really intense wake up call. 

Meredith Marks: Yeah it was, I had three small kids at the time, I was just trying to manage that and work but I had so many things being thrown at me at once and it was at that moment I realized I wanted to pursue my passion. 

EH: And so from there you went into jewelry design? 

Meredith Marks: I took some time off but fine jewelry had always been my passion so I kind of dove in head first, my husband had a business trip and I sort of piggy backed on it and started learning from there. I studied at the GIA and that was that.

EH: I’m sure you have wondered when you look back on that situation if you would have switched careers if that had not have happened.

Meredith Marks: Oh for sure, I mean that’s the thing, everyone’s career is such a process. I talk with so many young people who are, you know, feeling pressure because they don’t know what they want to do and my response is always the same. I tell them, “It’s an evolution and a process, there is no clear right or wrong, just try stuff out. You have to try different things to see what’s going to work for you and resonate with you.” 

Meredith’s love for fine jewelry and fashion started at a young age, she shared with me, “When I was a child I watched my mother get ready in the mornings or for events and was mesmerized by her jewelry. Many years back she had pieces from a designer, Marina B, who created jewelry with interchangeable colored gemstones and that was a huge inspiration for my collection. I do a lot of versatile pieces, pieces that are two sided, earrings that can be taken apart and worn as pendants and it was definitely inspired by those early memories.”

EH: Knowing where you are now, designing your own jewelry line, owning a brick and mortar, participating as a cast member of Real Housewives on Bravo, would you still have gone through law school and business school?

Meredith Marks: Absolutely. The degrees are beyond helpful and have been throughout my life. Legal thinking and reasoning, in my view, helps me not just in business but in dealing with people. I think that is represented on the show. When I’m trying to explain something I’m able to use that A leads to B which leads to C and clearly make my point. The business side of my past schooling is everyday as well, you have to when running a business. It all comes together. 

EH: It definitely comes across on the show. You are so poised and give off calm, cool and collected energy.

Meredith Marks: Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. It’s nerve wrecking for sure but it’s amazing and fun too.

EH: Being in a creative industry it’s hard to be on the ball all of the time, giving 100%. How do you stay inspired when you are feeling burnt out?

Meredith Marks: My go to is to take out some loose gemstones and sort of get things going that way. I’m very inspired by the stones, I feel they represent energies and I love how they sparkle, the colors - all of it. So if I feel like I’m having a moment where I’m stuck, that helps me. Creating new concepts and ideas helps get you off the hamster wheel you can easily fall into.

EH: What is a staple piece of fine jewelry you think every woman needs in her repertoire and would recommend splurging on?

Meredith Marks: I think everybody needs a simple pair of studs. I personally am a huge ring person, that’s my thing and what I gravitate to but I think studs is step one for building a cohesive jewelry collection.

EH: And on those busy days when you are running out of the house to meetings or to meet with friends, what jewelry are you throwing on to feel more polished if you didn’t have time to get ready?

Meredith Marks: I wear my wedding ring every day but I usually put on a couple of my other rings and a set of hoop earrings - it’s simple, it’s clean but refined. Hoops are amazing, it finishes a look completely. For about five years it felt like we weren’t selling any hoops, it felt like they went out of style for a moment but a few years back they came back with vengeance and I am living for it.

Meredith has come a long way since her early days of idolizing her mother’s jewelry collection. Since launching her own collection in 2009 Meredith has received many accolades in the industry in the form of awards accompanied by a long list of celebrities who wear her beautiful designs both on and off the red carpet. If you want to keep up with Meredith follow her on Instagram, @meredithmarks, shop her collection at www.meredithmarks.com and watch her on Bravo with season 2 of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City coming this Fall.