Brooklyn's Progress
April/May 2005

By Barbie G.

New Brooklyn Chamber Member Mistie Dawn was working as a sales and marketing executive at Disney less than seven months ago. During her free time she created signature one-of-a-kind accessories – works of art. Her colleagues began to take notice of her creations and gave her high praise for her designs as well as requests to purchase her limited-edition handbags and jewelry.

Ms. Dawn truly enjoyed sculpting her designs out of vintage books into luxury clutches, purses and totes and designing jewelry from precious beads – so much so that she left her job and started Signature M, Inc.

In less than seven months Ms. Dawn created an entire collection of handbags and jewelry for the 2005/2006 spring and winter seasons and developed her own Web site to showcase her collection.

“Art has always been the center of my life and I want to reflect that in my collection,” says Ms. Dawn, who has a degree in Fine Arts.  “I’ve always been inspired by the evolution of form, vivid displays of color and poetry.”

As an eight-year Prospect Heights resident Ms. Dawn has received great exposure at the Brooklyn Museum and channels her inspirations gained from the Museum into her collection.

“Timing and talent is everything in business, and that is why I decided to present my collection to the Museum,” says Ms. Dawn.

The store managers were so impressed by Ms. Dawn’s jewelry pieces, designed especially for the Museum Gift Shop, that they requested Ms. Dawn also design a limited edition Basquiat inspired handbag so it could be on display at the new store on the fourth level of the museum during the Basquiat exhibit.

“I was so excited about the opportunity to truly unite art and fashion as I do with all of my pieces,” said Ms. Dawn. 
Ms. Dawn was recently named one of the top 25 designers in Brooklyn, in NRG magazine and in March 2005 she was featured in the Wealth Collection magazine, a publication based in the UK.
 
In less than half a year, Ms. Dawn is making waves and this is just the beginning of what seems to be a successful journey.
 
Mistie Dawn’s handbags are available online at http://www.purseheaven.com/ and on her Web site at http://www.signaturem.com/. Her bags are also available at Mia’s Jewels in Miami, Fla.