COUTURE: What is your store’s unique point-of-view?

Joanna Latham: The concept for the Jo Latham brand grew very organically. We are a boutique inside of a boutique. I have retailer partners in both Fort Worth and Amarillo, and I offer a turn-key fine jewelry department in both of those locations. This was born out of a neat desire for me to have a retail location, and for my partners to have fine jewelry department; merging these two conceptually is where the brand has landed. In some ways, it’s seamless for the customer and in other ways, we’re turning these places into destinations for fine jewelry.

The location in Fort Worth is within a high-end clothing store and together, we’ve built a really loyal customer base where we’re able to style our clients from head to toe. They have the opportunity to stop in frequently and understand how the fine jewelry will work with their personalities and their styles and we elevate their ability to collect pieces. We have a lot of self-purchasing clients, and we cater to a clientele that is interested in understanding the designers’ stories and how their pieces complement their own individuality.

The space in Amarillo is in partnership with an interior decorator. We have a beautiful, antique jewelry case and we wanted to create a very personal, casual but punctuated experience. It feels a bit like being in a living room when you visit. Even though I’m in someone else’s space, we’ve created this jewelry moment that’s worked very well for me, my partners and our clients.

COUTURE: What COUTURE designers or brands are your clients really responding to lately and why?

JL: I have loved working with Sorellina over the years, I feel like their collections speak very much to my clientele. When they launched their Tarot collection it was so unexpected and heartfelt, and what they’ve continued to do since then has allowed us to build interest around talismanic, meaningful pieces. Their jewelry is precious with a kick of personality, it’s weighty, it’s special and it helps people accent their personalities. We’re also in love with the Empress collection they launched at the 2022 COUTURE show.

Ananya is a new designer I picked up this year and it’s getting a really nice response. The Chakra bracelets are highly customizable, and my clients love the ability to choose their gemstones. The Scatter collection is this delicate, starry, scattered diamond look that appeals to a Texas client; it’s a big look but so feminine. Scatter even has some bridal applications, and it works with both dressy and casual looks.

Jade Trau is another new designer for me and that’s been a blast. Her work has that highly collectable personalized aspect that’s layered without being messy; you can add pieces that feel really intentional.

Tabayer is a new COUTURE designer that I met this year. She’s doing beautiful work, such a bold design but it’s also so simple and classic and weighty. The diamond pave pieces are incredible, but even the all gold pieces are amazing. It’s been really fun to see the reactions to these new designers I’ve introduced.

I really thought there would be a higher learning curve with Silvia Furmanovich. Her work is such an artistic endeavor that I thought it might take clients a little bit of time to understand what they’re looking at in terms of design and craftsmanship, but everyone gets it right away. Her pieces are so special, and it’s been so fun having some of her work in stock to have the opportunity to explain her deep dive and intention, how she immerses herself in the process. It’s really an especially big treat knowing what goes into the things she creates, it’s phenomenal.

For me, explaining the passion, craftsmanship and enthusiasm behind our designers’ work is one of the most fun parts of my job.

COUTURE: Where’s the best spot in town to grab a quick lunch?

JL: One of my favorite places is Press Café. It’s on the Trinity River so from certain places in town you can walk or bike there. It’s pet friendly so you can bring your animals and sit outside, especially on a pretty day. They have an excellent brunch and an excellent lunch.

COUTURE: Where’s the best restaurant for entertaining clients or out of town guests?

Fort Worth is really unique in that it has some pretty particular areas that are fun to take out of towners that check a lot of boxes; you can have a nice fine dining experience while also taking in Fort Worth culture. In the Stock Yards, Lonesome Dove, which is a Tim Love restaurant, does Texas cooking really really well, so you can experience great steak or chicken fried steak in a part of town that’s unique to Fort Worth. In general, the Stock Yards is a fun experience with so many things to see and do. There’s a new hotel in that area called Hotel Drover that is exceptional.

COUTURE: What’s your favorite bar? (High/low options preferred)

JL: Lately what we love to do is go to a place that is fairly new called Courtside Kitchen. It’s a pickle ball bar and they also have a great restaurant so you can go sit at the bar and have a bite to eat or rent a pickle ball court. We’ve joined there and we’ll go and get a court or have a pick-up game. Pickle ball is great, anyone can play it, and I always say you can play with a beer in your hand and still win!

For a high option, I would say Side Saddle Saloon in the Stock Yards. They have great cocktails made by mixologists and a really nice atmosphere.

COUTURE: What’s your favorite local cultural spot?

Fort Worth has an unbelievable cultural district, and there are world class museums all within walking distance. I love the Modern Art Museum; it’s a manageable size and both their permanent and rotating collections are great.

The Amon Carter Museum is where you can see American and Indigenous art.

The Kimbell is one of the most beautiful buildings in Fort Worth and it has an incredible collection of European and Renaissance art. We have a Michelangelo, one of his first known paintings! The arts and culture commitment in Fort Worth is outstanding for a city this size. All of these buildings are designed by amazing architects, and they’re within walking distance with amazing permanent and rotating collections.

COUTURE: What’s special about your town?

Fort Worth is an easy place to live, everything is a 10 minute drive away and we have all of these amazing areas of town, like the cultural district, and our downtown is extremely vibrant with more arts and culture like the Bass Center. Fort Worth has an entrepreneurial feeling, it just feels dynamic, friendly, and easy-to-manage. Fort Worth does get lumped in with the DFW area, but it’s its own gem, it’s more grit than glitz and there are just a lot of cool people doing interesting things. I think Fort Worth is just great in so many ways; being here and back in Texas has been good for the company, and good for me and my family personally.