Meet Our Founder

 

Melissa Mandarich, GIA Accredited/Applied Jewelry Professional; Inactive C.P.A. 

GIA Alumni Member Applied Jewelry Professional Gemologist Institute of America

Melissa, a member of the Women's Jewelry Association and GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Alumni Member, is the sole buyer for Vintage Magnality and takes the guess work out of shopping for jewelry by looking for pieces that she would wear herself.  Having discerning taste and an eye for unique one-of-a-kind pieces that can either stand out to tell a story or classic everyday elegance to take you through your life journey, she brings a curated collection to our online storefront.  We want to provide you the best shopping experience there is for fine jewelry, placing customer service and your experience with us as our core mission, paired with technology to provide you convenience, transparency and options.  

Melissa is the Managing Member and Founder of Vintage Magnality, who resides in Lake Forest, IL with her husband, three children, and three dogs.  Melissa the oldest of three, was born in Vermont, raised in upstate New York, graduated from Colorado State University's College of Business, with a Bachelor's of Science with a concentration in Accounting degree.   As a licensed CPA working across the country for several Fortune 500 companies including Arthur Andersen LLP, KB Home and MDC Holdings, Inc.,  Melissa has had a two decade career in corporate accounting, finance, compliance, land acquisition and human resources. While living and working in Chicago, Melissa attended Harrington College of Design part-time pursuing additional education in the field of interior design. 

Most recently, Melissa served as the CFO and CHRO for multiple regional and national law firms.  While traveling with two of her children, Melissa was inspired by the natural beauty surrounding them to start a business focused on sustainability.  Thinking that these beautiful resources need to be preserved for generations to come, Melissa came up with the idea to couple her talents and hobbies of style, treasure hunting, and jewelry to start a sustainable jewelry company.  Vintage Magnality was then born.  Magnality, means a wonderful thing, which is a play on her son's name, Magnus.  

Vintage is the most ethical and sustainable form of consumerism there is as it doesn't require new materials to be mined or resources expended to make vintage goods, they already exist.  Vintage pieces just need to be discovered and brought to market by someone.  We have recently added our Storyteller Fine Jewelry line by Vintage Magnality, which offers our customers an ethical and sustainable approach for new jewelry lovers. We'd love it if you would follow us on our journey!