Tanya Farah (pictured) still owns all of her childhood jewelry—maintaining it in tribute to her mother and to have small symbols of who she was then compared with the woman, jewelry designer, and entrepreneur she is today.
When Farah was growing up in Iran, her mother often took her to a Tehran shop called Tala (which means gold). “I would go every month to the store and pick out a different charm or piece that spoke to me,” Farah recalls.
“That began my love affair with jewelry. As time passed and my collection of charms grew, I realized that they were more than just objects—they were telling a story. My story.”
As the founder of Tanya Farah Fine Jewelry, the New York–based designer says sifting through those charms reminds her of the thoughts and feelings she experienced when she was younger and what she hopes to bring to jewelry as a designer now.
During the Iranian Revolution of the late ’70s, Farah moved to California with her parents and brothers. She graduated from Santa Monica High School.
Her first job was as an assistant for a men’s custom tailor, where she learned about textiles, patterns, and shapes. “Each piece of fabric was a work of art,” she says.
Education was important to her family, so Farah knew she was expected to go to college and start a career, get married, and have a family. She attended Cal State as an undergrad, and by age 26 she’d earned her Ph.D. in organizational psychology and was consulting for a Fortune 500 company.
“It was fascinating work, and I enjoyed it. It was empowering for me to be in those spaces as a woman,” Farah says.
She got married in 1990, and after her two children were born in the mid ’90s, Farah chose to stay home and focus on motherhood. As her son and daughter got older, she decided to explore something she’d loved as a child: art and creating things with her hands.
“Motherhood ignited a desire within me to not only fulfill my dream of becoming an artist I always envisioned but to also venture into entrepreneurship,” Farah says. “I started to see things differently. I started by taking some classes, working with silver wire, creating pieces.”
It wasn’t until a fundraiser for her children’s school that she got the push from friends and family to develop her jewelry into something more than a hobby. Her brand, founded in 2001, focuses on fine jewelry—pieces that can last beyond the original wearer and be passed down. Thus, the jewelry becomes a way to share who the original owner was with later generations—as Farah does with her childhood charm and her children.
Perhaps her brand’s best-known item is the Tree of Life, an 18k gold charm with approximately 2 carats of diamonds set in the shape a tree with many branches. Farah describes it as a symbol of feminine strength and resilience, reflecting a woman’s path in life through her own growth and that of the people she loves.
The Tree of Life charm also features a butterfly sitting atop the tree and a couple of pomegranates to one side, representing eternal life and hopeful renewal, Farah says.
“I explore the stories that inspire me—my upbringing in Iran, my life journey as a woman and as a mother,” she says. “When you wear a piece from my collection, you are becoming part of a rich tapestry. Your story can be shared over and over again. It’s a reminder that our journeys are all part of something larger and more beautiful.”
(Photos courtesy of Tanya Farah)
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