MEET THERESA HARNOIS

Theresa Harnois is the founder and creative force behind harT Designs. Theresa fuses art and fashion to create stunning, one-of-a-kind statement pieces she calls “wearable art.” Today she caters to a global clientele, and her bold pieces have donned both local and international runways. Her unique designs have been showcased in numerous publications and museums.

But the journey has not been easy.  Inspired and encouraged by her artistic mother. Theresa had been making jewelry for 20 years when her life and art changed dramatically. She lost her mother to cancer, divorced shortly afterward, and sold her permanent home. Devastated by her losses, she felt alone and broken.

“It would take my entire world crumbling before I could realize the depth of my creative potential,” she says.

On her way to Costa Rica for some soul searching, riddled with anxiety about her future, she started fidgeting with some scraps of wire and loose stones from her jewelry collection.

“It was just nervous energy at first, but then I saw something begin to form as I manipulated the stones and wire with my fingers. I started paying closer attention and working the wire with intention, until a very special piece appeared,” she says. “Suddenly, I saw the resemblance between my life and the new piece. I saw how the twists and turns of the wire mimicked the twists and turns of my life. The sharp edges and sparkly crystals were my highs and lows. The loose materials strewn about were just the details of my life waiting to be assembled into something beautiful.

“When the piece was finished, all the beautiful chaos of my life had come into order. The process felt very raw, yet organic. It was cathartic. It became my new approach to life. It gave me hope.”

The experience was so powerful she decided to create a new line of jewelry that she calls “Catharsis.”

Today, each of Theresa’s pieces is created in a similar creative flow, and offers from models, photographers, and stylists flow to her in the same organic way. “I have been literally swept away. And thank God, because all of this has nourished my own tattered heart,” she says.

Theresa is grateful for her gifts and truly puts her heart into her work, literally and figuratively. Her signature is to weave a tiny heart somewhere into every piece. “My hope is that the love and inspiration that infuses each of my pieces is passed on to the new owner, providing love and support and acknowledging the unlimited creative potential of all of us to live our best lives.”
Theresa Harnois

harT AT WORK