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“Many, many, many years later when I started in Neiman Marcus, the head buyer for precious jewellery at the time said ‘Margot, we don’t have very many people like you, where you design this magnificent jewellery, and you’re comfortable standing behind the counter talking to the clients, but you can also run a business’. “I thank my parents for that,” Margot says. Speaking of Neiman Marcus, how does a designer from regional Australia come to be showcased in one of the most prestigious stores in the USA (two if you include Margot’s subsequent success in Bergdorf Goodman). “I always had it firmly in mind that there are seven days in a week and 52 weeks in a year and that I could do what I was doing for 25 million people in Australia or I could do it for 300 million people in America,” Margot explains. “But it was actually my husband who was pivotal in me being in Neiman Marcus. “I think it’s common in creative people that you never think you are ready, and I would have
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been on the other side of the glass looking in for much longer if it wasn’t for him,” Margot admits. “We were in Dallas and Peter asked me to meet him at Neiman Marcus where he was having lunch. “When I walked into the downtown store, which was also their corporate headquarters, he was standing in the precious jewellery department talking to the manager, Patti Mitchell, and he said ‘Here’s my wife, she’s a fourth generation in her family’s business and she’s a jewellery designer, you really should have a look at her work’. “I could see poor Patti, who has since become a very dear friend, thinking ‘Oh no, not another husband who thinks his wife is a genius’. “Luckily, she looked at me and the jewellery I was wearing and phoned the head buyer, Lisa Haddow, who happened to be in that particular store on that particular day, and Lisa asked if I could come back at 4pm. “I went back, showed her the 30 pieces of jewellery I had with me and after about 40 minutes Lisa said ‘I think this would be perfect for 14 of our 40 stores and we’d like to start doing business with you’. “They still say they have never before or since taken on a new vendor like that so it was really remarkable.” Then came the hard work, creating a selection of pieces that would showcase Margot’s design aesthetic while appealing to a new and discerning clientele. “It’s not easy to put together a collection of precious jewellery, it’s a huge investment and I was really starting from scratch,” she explains. “My heart wasn’t in repeat pieces, so from the very beginning it was a one-of-a-kind business. “While I don’t design for a certain type of person, I can usually tell when somebody walks in, exactly the piece of jewellery they should have. “It’s just instinct but people are very kind in accepting my suggestions as well.”
So how do you create a bespoke collection? And what is the process and inspiration behind her eclectic designs? “I love meeting new people and seeing new places and learning new things, and I think that’s been very much an inspiration for the direction my jewellery design has taken,” Margot says. “I’ll be inspired by walking through the couture department and seeing what amazing things international designers are doing with fashion, or going to a Museum of Modern Art and seeing a particular exhibition. “As for the stones, I don’t go shopping for gemstones because you can’t, it’s just what rough is being cut, it’s what’s available, and what works with what I already have. “I find a good gem simply talks to you and quite often I will sit down with all the precious stones out, or all the pearls, and I’ll just put them together until I think they look amazing. “Then I’ll do a sketch to get the idea across to the people who do the computer-generated drawing, which then goes to the workroom. “From there it’s a matter of looking at the design regularly and adapting it until it organically develops into its final form. “I might have had something in the vault for five years, or even ten years sometimes, before I use it,” she adds. “Luckily, gemstones don’t age and they don’t go off, they just keep increasing in value.” Which brings us full circle to World of Wonder: Margot McKinney, a very personal and much anticipated exhibition which showcases a stunning selection of Margot’s creations alongside five generations of history and storytelling. “It is an incredible honour and I’m very grateful for the support of the MoB Chairman Sally Anne Atkinson and CEO, Renai Grace,” says Margot. “I’ve never worked with a more professional, intuitive, creative, detail orientated group of people.
