Montauk As Muse

The Snyder sisters top my list of favorite accessories designers....their colorful statement pieces are timeless!

Jodie and Danielle Snyder create Hamptons-inspired jewelry for their company, Dannijo.

For Danielle and Jodie Snyder, the sisters behind jewelry line Dannijo, the Hamptons—and Montauk specifically—was the inspiration for their current collection. “Being from Florida, we’ve always loved the beach,” says Jodie. “There are so many beautiful places in the Hamptons that we’ve discovered over the years.”

“We took elements of both sides of Montauk,” Danielle explains. “You can be super-beachy and very casual, or there’s the ‘new’ Montauk, where people get dressed up; it’s the dichotomy of what’s happening.”

Similarly, the sisters’ resulting jewelry collection is both formal and relaxed, featuring a range of pieces from the Americana bracelets—silver charms on thin straps of braided bandana—to the Silva necklace, a knotted bib of minerals, crystals, and cording. “As seasons change, you’re inspired by different things and want to wear different clothing,” says Jodie. “We feel the same way about jewelry. Every season we try and take a new perspective or direction and evolve as a brand.”

“We envisioned the collection with long dresses and flip-flops,” says Danielle, who in the past has rented a summer house with her sister in Sag Harbor; this summer, however, they’ll be staying with friends in a beachfront Amagansett home. “It can be really dressy, or it can be really bohemian.”

That combination of rough and refined describes the Snyders’ sensibilities as well. While neither trained to be a jewelry designer—Jodie studied business and public relations in college, while Danielle focused on psychology and Spanish—the pair has built a successful company simply by creating jewelry that they themselves would want to wear. Today, Dannijo is carried in boutiques such as Tenet in Southampton, department stores like Bergdorf Goodman, and at saks.com. The label counts Brooklyn Decker, January Jones, Katie Couric, and Ali Larter as fans. “[Danielle and Jodie] do a very good job creating an eclectic feel that doesn’t feel forced,” says actress Rashida Jones, another aficionada of the line. “There’s an irony to [Dannijo], but it’s still got a sex appeal and a beauty.” Tenet, 91 Main St., Southampton, 377-3981

(hamptons-magazine.com)