Mali Sabatasso seems to have been born to create exquisite and natural jewelry. When she was a little girl in Laguna Beach, she would sit for hours adorning herself with semi-precious stones and beads from exotic lands. The individual pieces she turned in her little fingers sent her dreaming of far off places, and filled her with peace. Ultimately, she would end up doing just what she dreamed of as a little girl, but “life is what happens when you’re making other plans,” as John Lennon said, and Mali ended up taking an interesting detour before living her childhood dream.
After graduating from the University of Hawaii as a Cross Cultural Ethnic Studies major, she moved to Aspen to pursue an opportunity in the fashion business. It was a wonderful experience, and allowed her to be steeped in the nature that she loves, but it isn’t exactly a hotbed of the fashion industry. So she moved on to LA, where the swift current of high-end fashion took her on a journey of experience that evolved into a long and successful career. For nineteen years, Mali soaked up everything the industry had to offer, and gave back by helping create some very successful brands. Ultimately, Mali made her mark as Commercial Director for high-end designer Jenni Kayne, and opened Pearl Boutique for Jennifer Nicholson and was a buyer all over Europe. During her long career in fashion, she found new ways to express her creativity, but somehow through all the excitement and success, something seemed to be missing.
One day, while Mali was in New York showing a collection for Fashion Week, she stopped into a bead store in Soho. Feeling the textures and soaking up the colors of the pieces from locales all over the world reawakened something within her, and she had an epiphany. She became once again that little girl turning fabulous treasures over in her hands. She felt again the excitement of the places she had lived in around the world – the sounds, the smells, the sights all came back to her. Soon she found herself in her hotel room fashioning jewelry that really meant something to her. She got up the nerve to show the pieces to her fashion world colleagues and some of her celebrity clients, and they raved. Her work stood out because it was personal and different; it was the product of a natural passion. On a leap of faith, Mali put everything she had into a new venture and founded MALI SABATASSO DESIGN.
MALI SABATASSO is now a flourishing line of high fashion jewelry and accessories that reflects the culture and natural beauty Mali has found in places like the Hawaiian islands, St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands, Senegal, West Africa, Aspen, and France – all places she has called home. Mali blends the timeless beauty of nature with the glamour of today’s fashion aesthetics manifesting a bohemian chic collection unique to the industry. Her collections are a unique expression of her own personal journeys, informed by strong connections to nature. Each piece of jewelry is lovingly created by hand from natural elements and hand-picked gems from the earth, the sea, and sky. Mali is happy and fulfilled now that her personal odyssey has come full circle, and delighted to see her jewelry featured in specialty boutiques and department stores all over the world.