It might be said that Jill Schwartz has design in her blood. She is the daughter of two designers, one a graphic designer the other an interior designer. With such creative parents, an appreciation of art was one of the cornerstones of her upbringing. Her fascination with jewelry was evident at an early age. She was forbidden to have pierced ears until the age of sixteen. So at three years old, she resorted to gluing beads to her earlobes.

Like her jewelry, Schwartz's talents combine different elements. She has an undergraduate degree in interior design from Cornell University and studied for a master's degree in graphic design at Pratt Institute. It was this schooling along with her trip to Europe that afforded her the confidence to start her own business.

Schwartz managed to travel throughout Europe making and selling jewelry as she went. Each sale allowed her to extend her trip a bit longer. Her original plans for two months of travel were extended to one year. She only returned to begin her master's degree. Never forgetting her love of jewelry, she continued to design and sell her wares to pay the bills. Her jewelry business began to prosper, requiring full time attention . . . and so Elements was born. The jewelry, frames, journals, books, paperweights, and clocks which she designs, are a natural synthesis of her training as a graphic designer and an interior designer, and incorporates her love and knowledge of ancient and ethnic arts. She uses wonderfully balanced collage and assemblage.