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F ollowing a decade working primarily with Donna Karan in NYC, Hawkes accepted a position as creative director with luxury brand Furla in Bologna, Italy. After some back and forth between Italy and New York, Hawkes embraced Italy, learned to speak Italian, and made Bologna her permanent home. That was where Hawkes designed her first box clutch and launched her eponymous brand in 2012. Inspiration for the clutch was drawn from one of Hawkes' favorite pastimes: shopping for vintage and antiques. She has visited some of the world's most famous antiques markets (she includes Round Top in this list) and attends local markets in the Piazza Santo Stefano and I Portici di Medicina twice a month. "Antique and vintage shopping is important to my work because it gives me information about different eras," she says. "I'm very inspired by the Art Deco and Bauhaus movements, as well as the belle époque." The bold geometric designs and rich, romantic colors of these eras, along with patterns derived from the natural world and rendered in plastic, were all incorporated into the design of Hawkes' original ball clutch. The bag was an overnight sensation. "A few major fashion magazines picked it up when I launched, including Vogue, W and Harper's Bazaar," she says. "Within six months, the brand went from my living room to an international business with distribution in Paris, Dubai, NYC, and Dallas." Celebrities and fashion influencers were soon spotted carrying Tonya Hawkes clutches. Recording artist Alicia Keys, model and actress Elizabeth Hurley, and actress Mindy Kaling were among the first, along with popular Internet personalities Leandra Cohen and Olivia Palermo. A similar level of success is expected for Hawkes' jewelry line, which launched in October 2025. Again, the designer references the past to inform her creations, combining ancient Egyptian and Etruscan influences with American sensibility. Her bold collar and pendant necklaces, cuffs, and cocktail rings are rendered in 18K gold-plated brass and set with semiprecious stones. Hawkes will show her new jewelry collection and her box clutches during the Round Top Spring Antiques & Design Show. Find her inside Halle 4 at The Halles, March 14 – 28. Clutches, @tonyahawkes; jewelry, @tonyaleighjewelry; home goods, @hawkesnest. 71