A NOTE FROM JANE
Liz! It was such an honor to create this special Jane Win x MAREA collection together with you and your fabulous team. I can’t wait to launch! In the meantime… Tell us a little more about YOU!
Are you kidding?? It was such an unbelievable honor to create this with YOU! We are so excited to give everyone a piece of our Marea coin so they can be reminded of all that is represents every day.
My name is Liz Joy and I live in Connecticut by the beach with my husband Brian, and three children, Brian (9), Grace (7) and William (2). I have lived in Connecticut my entire life minus a brief stint in New York when I graduated college and although I loathe the cold weather, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
I became an “influencer” sort of by accident after my first son was born. I knew I didn’t want to go back to Corporate America after having kids but I wanted to keep busy do something creative. I needed an outlet and so I started a blog about becoming a mother and all of the things I am interested in, fashion, interiors, travel, etc.… I’ve been doing that almost every day since and have established a community of women with whom I get to interact with daily.
This past year after years of working in fashion, I decided to start my own clothing line called Marea. Marea means tides in Spanish and Italian (my mom is part Spanish, and my dad is Italian) and it represents the ebb and flow of life with the pulling of the moon and the rising and falling of the tides. Our pieces are meant to be worn to carry you through the ebbs and flows and we like to think of our customer wearing them to her favorite beaches around the world.
Nothing makes me happier than being with my family, a day well spent outside under the sun with the people I love the most.
Where did you get your start? I know you started your online community, Pure Joy Home, almost 13 years ago. How did this community inspire you to create MAREA?
First let me say that it is such a gift to be able to start a brand with a community behind you. For the past 13 years I have gotten to know the ins and outs of how my community likes to dress. The colors they like, the prints they gravitate to, the silhouettes that flatter them, and I was able to take all of this and apply to the pieces we are creating. It’s also so nice to have been able to get to know so many of these women and go to them for feedback in the creation stages – it’s like having a focus group at your fingertips, and I just hope that at the end of the day what we are creating for them makes them feel at home, makes them feel comfortable in their own skin, and happy.
There are so many fun surprises (and not so fun challenges) that come with starting your own business. Is there a special surprise delight that came with starting your own business with MAREA?
Haha, oh my goodness what a learning curve!! I must say the delight in fully recognizing that my gut never steers me wrong has been a life altering lesson that will never leave me.
Also, the joy of seeing my vision come to life is unlike any creative endeavor I have ever been involved with, and it is so much fun!
I always say I kind of hate this question that we ask women of ‘how do you balance it all’ but I really do see you enjoying being mother and a business owner. I love watching your Instagram stories running from your office to home to be with the kids (I do the same thing!) Is there a way you have structured your life to really love your day job and your mom job?
I know in my heart of hearts that however busy I am during my workday, that the work will always be there, but that these years when my kiddos are young will not. They are growing up SO fast and I never want to regret not being with them as much as I can.
Also, here me out on this one. I imagine balance as a bar – it’s not always straight, usually a little tilted one way or the other. Once it goes one or the other way too far, I feel that in my soul and in my bones. I know that when it is that way, I need to pause and get it back to center. This is how I envision my work and life balance and it really works for me. I think the important thing to note here is the grace I give to myself when it’s not perfectly straight, but almost J
Some quickfire questions!
-Your go to rose? Pure Joy Rosé of course!
-Everyday uniform: Dress or jeans and a blouse? Dress or jeans and a blouse? Can I say dress 50% and jeans the other 50%??
-If you had to pick your FAVORITE piece from the Marea Fall 2022 collection, what would it be? The Grace Midi! It’s the most elegant and versatile piece in my opinion. I can roll up to school pick up, wear it to an event, or out to dinner with girlfriends – obsession is an understatement.
-What do you never ever leave home without? Lip gloss!!
-What are you binging right now? Handmaids Tale – OMG so good.
Thank you so much to Liz for your time and we are so excited to launch this special piece together. Do not forget to sign up HERE to be the first to know about the launch and enter our giveaway.
