Name: Misty Valdez, 20

Location: Bejewel studio boutique on Broadway

Your outfit is so fun and bright!
Thank you. Since we were having a citrus-theme event here at work, I wanted to wear something bold and colorful. So, I pulled out my top three colorful dresses and let my mom decide.

Really? Most people would hesitate to let their mother choose their outfit.
My mom and I are very close, and I completely trust her fashion judgment. She always knows what looks good.

Did she help pick out those fabulous shoes, too?
No, shoes I know. I'm a shoe girl. I probably have a pair in every color in the rainbow. Jewelry, too; I can't get enough of it.

Is this where you get a lot of your accessories?

Actually, yes, and I help design and make some of it.

Cool, so you're a jewelry designer. ..... Is that full-time?
Unfortunately, no. I also go to school part-time — Northwest Vista — and work part-time at New York & Co. at La Cantera. And I live in Boerne. Gas is killing me right now!

Yeah, but at least you're doing something you love. How long have you been making jewelry?
It'll be a year in May. (coworkers) call me the mix-master because I'm very good at making three-strand blended necklaces. Carroll Dorsey Walker (Bejewel owner and designer) selects the stones and colors, and I blend them together. The first time I make one, it's very exciting. Then I realize I have to make 20 more!

Jeanie Tavitas-Williams | 210SA contributor