Jewelry designer Taunya Benton grew up in Philadelphia, where she was heavily influenced by her mother, who was a dressmaker. Her mother often made her barbie clothes out of the leftover scraps that were no longer usable for her business to sell. Benton said that this is what partly got her into the creative industry, along with being influenced by aspects of the 70s and other family members. All of this led to Taunya being surrounded in a creative environment where she was free and willing to experiment with different mediums throughout her childhood.
Despite the business, she has built and the direction it has taken her life in, jewelry design is not always what Benton thought she would be doing. She started hand-making jewelry for her daughter to wear when she started her modeling career in 2013. This, combined with Benton wearing her own pieces daily, brought attention to her talent. Benton hopes to further evolve the business by selling other goods, such as home decor and ceramics, all made out of the same fabrics and materials she began with.
Creative director and Stylist by Luna Zander.
Words by Reagan Freewalt.
Jewelry by Taunya Benton.
Photography by Alessa Maiuri.
Styling by Sydney Manis.
Makeup by Ari Young Sang.
BTS by Olivia Rugg.
Talent by Kat Gregory, Kyla Alisha and Kyle Anderson.