I'm in ENVY..literally

Envy is one of the best magazines Houston has to offer (and most of Tejas as of late) and I finally got an article published by them. I am so excited to have been able to write about Isabella Dean and I'm super thankful for Nicole Zaza becoming Houston's new city editor.

Envy Magazine, November issue p 104
INDIVI-JEWEL

Houston has been blessed with an abundance of boutiques and forget-me-not shops practically on every corner of the five hundred and ninety-six square mile city. Seriously, it’s one of the few cities where you can make a wrong turn and find yourself amidst an old house turned boutique. While a lot of great shops can be found on Westheimer, it is key to remember the newbies who have yet to develop a front door.

Meet Isabella Dean (ID). And owner Kristi Kotsatos. It has been twelve months to the day since Kristi K. opened the doors of Isabella Dean (the virtual door that is, located just north of isabelladean.com) and began rocking Houston, and many other cities, one piece of recycled jewelry at a time. ID is a one of a kind, earth-friendly jeweler deep in the heart of Texas with the brains and inspiration of a dreamer standing behind it.

Kristi K. attempted every maneuver possible to evade the corporate world, which came equipped with high heels, BlackBerrys, employee handbooks and the like. After graduating from the University of Texas, Kotsatos completed a grueling program at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and then moving west to Sandy Eggo (San Diego, of course). Suffering through a chaotic quarter-life crisis and wanting to continue in the pursuit of all things Oprah’ish, she created a green and UPcycled jewelry company and embraced her niche.

She has developed 3 product lines, all at affordable prices, all paying respect to mother earth. The izzy collection (rest assured, not named after Katherine Heigl) is the foremost collection of ID, and Kotsatos donates $10 from every piece to charity. She also guarantees each piece in this collection is one of a kind, with delicately hand-cut stones creating a truly unique piece. [ID]entity is a collection celebrating those affiliated with UT as a way to identify with your alma mater. Finally, Scooper Couture is a line exclusively dedicated to the four-legged friends out there creating eclectic personalized dog tags.

With stunning design and unique pieces, this big-hearted girl has got one hell of a bright future. But for now, shhh…Isabella Dean is the best kept secret in Houston. Pass it on.





.jl.