Librarian by day, creative force by night, Brooklyn based Julie Tran Lê is a Renaissance woman of sorts.  Armed with her Master’s degree in library science, Lê heads the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Library, where she helps designers and scholars research fashion history.  The job informs her own love of vintage, which is directly expressed in Lê’s preference for dressing in the ladylike silhouettes of the 1950s – a decade that has not only shaped her unique sense of style, but influenced her choice of design projects.  In forging a new definition of elegance and domestic goddessness, Lê has created a jewelry line and a mini baking empire. Lê has been making jewelry since high school, and today her line is  sold in stores from New York to Japan and Dubai. Crunchy Jewels are one-of-a-kind jewelry made from segments of broken vintage chains that have been intricately pieced together and reworked.  This craftsmanship is taken a step further in her latest collection, in which she has incorporated brightly colored yarn and string. Lê's limited edition pieces can be found at Stuart & Wright, and custom orders are available upon request. & Lê’s handmade approach to design carries over into her epicurean pursuits.  Mirroring her omnipresent cherry red lipstick is the red velvet interior of her cake balls, Sweet Jewels.  Hailed by Daily Candy as the “belle of the balls,” Lê’s confectionary treats are created by crumbling red velvet cake into cream cheese frosting which is then dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut. The ultimate indulgence in a small, ball-shaped serving, these cake balls have been making a regular appearance at private events at Susan Sarandon's ping pong club SPIN NY.  Sweet Jewels were the exclusive culinary treat for the opening of Todd Oldham's exhibition "New Voices, New Works" at the Wolfsonian Museum, which made its debut at Art Basel Miami 2009. Lê’s latest project – a collaboration with Lipstick Queen Poppy King – is perhaps her most personal. Both women have built businesses based on products they wholly developed and love. A mutual obsession with creativity is the foundation for a partnership that will see Lê create new cake balls inspired by the latest that Lipstick Queen will have to offer. Sweet Jewels Cake Balls are currently available on Etsy and by special order.  Sweet Jewels Cake Balls are   currently available on Etsy or available by special order. Press include Nylon, Nylon Japan, W Magazine, the New York Observer, Vice, Women's Health, Daily Candy, Sportswear International, VOGUE.COM, New York Magazine's The Grub Street, and ELLE.com

jewels