Debra’s crystal, glass and metal designs range from ornate to contemporary. The hair ornaments, which are produced with the same workmanship as fine costume jewelry, first hit the market, they were a fresh, upscale alternative to flimsy rhinestone tiaras. Rachel Leonard who has followed bridal trends for more than 15 years remembers the 80’s, when headpieces were made only at bridal manufacture to match specific gowns. Debra helped to transform headpieces into accessories that reflect bride’s individuality, she says. “She took a very artistic, whimsical approach to hair jewelry, and she’s always thinking of new ideas and new fantasies each season.”

Debra creates two annual collections of about 20 headpiece designs along with small handbags, necklaces, earrings and barefoot sandals for the beach and cruise weddings, which she introduces to buyers twice a year at retail markets in New York. She designs on several levels—styles that fill gaps in her collection (she calls them her intellectual pieces), a group of personal favorites and those elaborate pieces that often pique the interest of discriminating magazine editors and gain her publicity. “I’m happiest when I make something that works for everybody” she says.

Picking a best seller comes naturally to Debra, whose daughter, Ruth, 16, created the initial designs of one of the company’s most popular tiaras, the “Aurora” when she was 8 years old. Paris, it turns out, is a family affair. Debra’s husband, cabinetmaker Neil Reck, works with advertising campaigns, handles finances and often accompanies her to New York. “He got sucked in,” she says, smiling. “He never planned to.” Debra and Neil’s eldest daughter, 23-year-old Hannah, is the company’s public relations executive and it’s signature model that presents the collection at trunk shows through out the country.

“I never thought my career would be jewelry making. I thought it would be in painting and sculpture,” says Debra, a 1979 graduate of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. “But I definitely feel that I’ve redefined an industry that was not well thought of and have defined it as something that’s elevated to art now. I am very proud of that. Absolutely everyone in the industry that makes headpieces has to copy ours, which is kind of a compliment, but difficult at the same time. I think that’s really been the key to success for me,” she continues. “I’ve always set my goals much higher than where I am, and then I work to achieve them.”

While today, 70 hour work weeks are rare, Debra’s responsibilities continue to grow. She still designs every piece that Paris produces. She “suffers and pours over projects,” and is constantly thinking of ways to create timeless designs. She influenced by economy to 30’s and 50’s films, from the fashion styles of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly to the designs of Academy Award winner Edith Head. “It’s not just a muse that hits,” she explains. “I try not to look at anything else that’s being done. I’m not interested in being swayed. I have a real sense of my own direction”

Even though she refers to her design process as “methodical”, it is one that often awakens her at 2 in the morning with ideas. So she drives from her home in North Avondale to her corporate headquarters in Northside, the facility where pieces are produced, and by the time the employees roll in at 9 in the morning, she may have designed what might be the next big seller.

Cincinnati Wedding Magazine
Winter 2002
Text by Mary Beth Crocker
Photography by Jerome Vie

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