New Britain herald., 1930-04-23
|SHE FINDS SUCCESS IN HAND MADE. v
 JEWELS THAT MATCH THE WEAKER

has found jewels at the end of her rainbow of success.
 And women all over the country have discovered that these jewels, Tn their oriental, antique and mod ern hand settings, which Leo Rita makes, are an answer to their quest for beauty.
 The road along which Leo Rita worked her way to find her rain bow of success is quite as fascinas- ing as her gold and silver jewelry. In June, 1924, she arrived ia New York, alone and penniless, q slender, eager, sweet girl graduate from the Maryland Art School. T was just one more small-town girl hopefully in search of a ca- reer,' she told me, smiling as she recalled those days.
 She was not, it soon turned, out, 'lust one more' hopeful. For un- der her pretty dark hair she had q practical turn of mind. She must cat. Her career could wait. So she found a settlement house, and in return for aid in their recrea- tional hours and their arts and crafts departments, she was housed and fed.
 Moreover, she was using her lei sure hours looking about for other work that would give her more sat- isfaction. That next winter, she r1 h q rn1 to another institution where she could take both music and danc- ing in addition to her rather satis- | flying teaching in handicraft arts. T decided the next year that I was not finding myself,'" Miss Rita explained her reason for sud- | denly switching to newspape. work. Tor she had gone out and gotten herself a job running a 1 shopping column for a New York newspaper. She succeeded so marvclously that a Baltimore, Md paper offered her large salary to dc the same thing for them.
 But when ] left New York I became convinced that I would find some work there and nowhere else that would completely satisfy my artistic longings and give nt | the expression which 1 craved. Sc I came back the next year to the settlement, teaching art work. And my decision Was justified by the event."
 | n,-io 4.,I jewelry designer was at the settle ment house Gnd his work intrigue I her. So she asked him to teach her.
 At first he did not think I was in earnest because his art was ar ancient one, a difficult one, one i>l which he had been apprenticed fo. years before he was allowed to de- sign and make his own things, she said. But when he consente to teach mo, if I would not eNpec: to learn overnight, I knew that had found the work I had been looking for and dreaming of"
 For two hard years she served as apprentice to this Palestin: jeweler, working part time to sup, port herself at teaching, slavina the rest of her days and long intl the night on eXquisitely fine de. signs, when the cleaning metals taxed her eyesight and tied hor nerves in knots. But through ii all she felt she had found her work and before her apprenticeship was over, she had orders for some love. ly necklaces, brooches, earrings bracelets and rings.
 When she decided to open ( shop of her own she went into parr, nership with Russian man whc also had been a pupil of her teach, CT. They improved on the imper. sonal idea of having lovely setting: for everyone by designing ipdivid ual settings for different types O women. Today they analyze theil clients style of beauty and creat, designs that use certain gems 1T special settings that flatter tn, wcarer they were made for
 Some women should wear long exotic earrings Miss Rita explain ed. Some should always wea. gold, others have their beauty SC off in a much more distinguishe fashion by silver. Turquoise i arresting on certain women, mere ly pretty oA others. America is be coming jewel-conscious, in tn, | the right jewels can do for certain women. For more and more, wo men are asking advice and sugges tions on what they should vea; for this costume or that. 1ndivid l ual jcWclry is one of the favorit; gancc.'