Our latest Guest Curator to feature on the Well + Wonder blog is no novice when it comes to design. Starting at the ripe old age of 9! Taylor Miller Turner began designing and selling her handcrafted jewelry. What started as a hobby repurposing old jewels and pawning them off to all of the neighborhood mom’s has transformed into the wildly successful business and jewelry line Hazen & Co. This Houston native, Dallas based designer has been hustling ever since. We cannot get enough of this #girlboss. It is such a treat having Taylor as our latest guest curator. Continue reading to learn which artworks in the Well + Wonder collection are currently catching Taylor’s eye as well as a little bit more about the woman behind the Hazen & Co. designs! Thank you, Taylor!
“Resolution V” by Taelor Fisher
I have grown to love Taelor Fisher’s work more and more with time. Resolution V is something a little different from all of her other collections, and I love that about it. It’s a bit more of what I would expect from modern artists, but then, as you’re looking, you see little hints of Taelor and it makes me smile. She’s in the lines that wisp out of shapes; I begin to see her classic floral shapes evolving before my eyes. I also love the colors of this painting. I have the privilege of calling Taelor a dear friend, and we both have this unexpected love for chartreuse. It almost serves as a neutral. And the gray, seafoam and taupe in this particular work bring to mind all of the soothing feels. I simply would want to wake up to this painting every day and sip my coffee, thinking of the gift of the day and the gift of creative and beautiful spirits like Taelor’s.
“Finding Worth” by Susie Bettenhausen
Finding Worth is the work of another dear friend and artist. Fitting for this Floridian, this work by Bettenhausen takes me straight to the beach. It brings all the Palm Beach feels with its usage of stripes, coral, beachy aquas and the deep greens of Florida’s beautiful palms. I see the sun rising over the ocean blue, and tall palms lining streets of colorful homes. Susie never fails to bring a brightness with her work, and this collage is the perfect example.
“Tutti Fruti Ice Cream” by Hannah Betzel
This painting by the talented and oh so kind Hannah Betzel has all the feels. It makes me feel warm, at peace, and curious, all at the same time. I simply love the bright mustard and soft lavender mixed with the deep raspberry (with aqua peeking through almost like the sky on a cloudy day). In so many ways, this painting is my Spring 2019 collection meeting my Summer 2019 collection, with a glimpse into the future of my Fall 2019 campaign. Whereas there exist three full Hazen collection that aligns with just one of the various colors in this painting, Hannah beautifully brings them all together in one cohesive work.
Tell us about yourself.
Born and raised in Houston to an awesome family! Moved to Dallas for SMU where I was a marketing major. Got married in March 2019 and so excited to begin this next chapter! I never EVER thought that my career would be that of a jewelry designer. Growing up, making jewelry simply started as a hobby. Clearly, that changed– and pretty quickly, at that! More on this story below.
Why did you start your blog/brand/business?
I started making jewelry when I was 9 years old. I took about $100 of Christmas money and bought semi-precious stones that I made into necklaces. I sold those pieces to the moms at my brother’s baseball games and reinvested those profits into more stones for pieces. Within 6 months I held my first trunk show and began selling to retailers 6 months after that. At that time, every piece was a one-of-a-kind and made by hand on my bedroom floor. I began attending Atlanta market at the age of 12, where I continued selling my handmade pieces. It wasn’t until I got to college that I began enlisting the assistance of skilled artisans to help produce our best-selling pieces. When I graduated from SMU in 2015, I hit the ground running with Hazen full-time. Today, we have an awesome team based out of our Dallas Flagship location. I still design every piece and create the samples; each piece is then made by hand in Houston, Texas with lots of love.
It is said to look for art that “makes your heart skip a beat.” What aspects of art make your heart skip?
Unexpected color combinations
The key to making a house a home? What does a home need more of and less of?
More candlelight. More dinner parties. More morning coffee gatherings. More candles in the entryway. More fresh flowers and freshly fluffed pillows. More children’s art on the fridge. More doors wide open. With all of those things, anything less pleasant will simply fade into the background.
The greatest color combination that ever existed?
I don’t think there is one!
What’s your favorite housewarming gift?
A LAFCO candle—there’s nothing better than having a signature scent that fills the home.
So, tell us a bit about your corner of the world – where do you live and what do you love about it?
While I was born and raised in Houston and love it dearly, Dallas is now home. I love that people in Dallas love good clothes, good food, pretty landscaping, and a well-decorated home—including GREAT art! I love that it’s an easy city to travel to and from, and it has all the amenities of a big city. People in Dallas also have BIG hearts and love to give back, which sets such a wonderful tone for the city! Everyone’s corner has certain attributes that make it uniquely appealing, and for me, Dallas has oh so many sweet and special ones.
