MARIANNE: CO-FOUNDER, PATINA & HUE; FOUNDER & OWNER, MBRUVEL EDITIONS; & FORMER CO-OWNER OF BRUVEL, INC.; PAMELA: CO-FOUNDER & DESIGN DIRECTOR, PATINA & HUE; DESIGN DIRECTOR, BEVERLY DESIGN STUDIO; FORMER ASST. PROFESSOR, GRAPHIC DESIGN.
By photographer
Business partners Marianne Bruvel and Pamela Beverly-Quigley refer to one another as “M” and “P.” Good friends for over 20 years, Marianne and Pamela have similar design aesthetics when it comes to fashion and jewelry, as well as their approach to life. The two met on Maui while working on a design project together, and their relationship quickly developed into a rare friendship. Now single, Marianne lives in Texas, and Pamela is married with two children and lives in Utah. They’ve kept a close friendship and know each other so well, they finish one another’s sentences.
“YOUR GIRLFRIENDS WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS YOU’LL HAVE IN LIFE.”
“We’ve been apart for years and yet, our closeness has only grown,” said Pamela.
“We both find our most meaningful friendships share the qualities of loyalty and authenticity,” said Marianne.
“We share a strong sense of loyalty and have been there for one another through life’s up and downs,” said Pamela.
On their website, Patina & Hue, Pamela and Marianne curate style driven clothing and accessories plus artwork and interiors for women with discerning taste. Interested in reaching women over 40, the tagline for their blog is “Conversations for a Well Defined Life.”
“With our blog, we’re trying to bring awareness about the amazing artists and design driven, one-of-a-kind pieces that are out there,” said Pamela. “We chose blogging as a platform to highlight discussions women are having concerning how to live fulfilling lives. Balancing home, work; how you present yourself to the world and your environment and how you inspire others, and they inspire you.”
“Once a woman reaches 40, if she’s pursued her interests and has spent time working on herself, it’s probably the beginning of the best time in her life,” said Marianne. “That’s part of what “P” and I want to do with the blog. We’re still reinventing; still doing things.”
Your girlfriends will be the most important relationships you’ll have in life.
with Marianne
MOST IMPORTANT SURVIVAL SKILL
PAMELA: Reinvention. It can be a really scary thing, but I see it as a gift. It keeps my life and my career moving forward and staying relevant. I started out as a designer, sitting at an art table, drawing logos for clients. When the MacIntosh came out, I totally poo-pooed it. I thought there’s no way designer’s would embrace that technology, but I eventually found it to be a powerful tool.
MARIANNE: Reinvention for me as well. I started in the art business when I was 23-years-old. It wasn’t what was driving me, but I ended up doing it because my husband, also my business partner, was an artist. When I moved on from my marriage, I decided to pursue what I wanted to do, rather than giving my time and effort to someone else’s passion, so it’s a wonderful time for me. I’m so grateful to be sharing that experience with “P”.
VALUE MORE NOW THAN 20 YEARS AGO
MARIANNE: Feeling like I’m in my own skin. Knowing who I am and how I operate.
PAMELA: Time. I used to be a hard charger, working all the time. Now I value my down time with my friends and family.
WHAT’S NOT WORTH IT ANYMORE
PAMELA: I don’t care for small talk anymore. I’m interested in more meaningful conversations and relationships. When I ask someone how they’re doing, I really want to know.
MARIANNE: Killing myself for my job. For 20 plus years it wasn’t unusual for me to put in 10 and 12-hour days, seven days a week. I value owning my own time and working for myself.
MOST TREASURED POSSESSION
PAMELA: My grandfather gave me a little bit of money. I didn’t want to waste it, so I bought a lovely teapot. Sometimes I’ll put together a tea party for my daughter, using hot chocolate. Each time I pull it out, it reminds me of my grandfather.
MARIANNE: My sense of humor. It’s kept me from falling into deep depression and helped me get through life. I have a motto: “Patience, persistence and perseverance.” Those three things will get you anywhere you want to go.
CHARACTERISTIC YOU LIKE IN OTHER WOMEN
MARIANNE: Authenticity. When I was 17, my Aunt Babbs sat me down and said, “Aside from your husband and kids, your girlfriends will be the most important relationships you’ll have in life. If they’re authentic, they’ll be there for you.” It’s a wonderful thing that happens when women are willing to be vulnerable with one another and build that trust over time.
PAMELA: Consistency. If someone appears one way, one time, and then shows up another time with a different way of being, it throws me off. I value authenticity and consistency in relationships.
EARLIEST MEMORY OF FASHION OR MAKEUP
MARIANNE: Growing up in Dallas, we were all about the hair, makeup and Seventeen Magazine. There’s a picture of me at 10-years-old wearing hot rollers, sitting on my girlfriend’s sink, shaving my legs. I have black eyeliner on upper and lower insides of my eyes.
PAMELA: You Texas girls are so funny! I was a tomboy and an athlete. I grew up in California at the end of the hippie movement. I had long stringy hair. No one I knew wore makeup. (MARIANNE: “…early granola.”) The summer before my junior year, I started to think about boys. I snuck in and put on my mother’s mascara and did an up-do.
FAVORITE DESIGNERS
PAMELA: Dries van Noten. I love their structure and artistic outerwear. Issey Miyake… I’ve been looking at one of his handbags for years. Shoe designer, Pedro Garcia. If they fit your arch, they’re one of the most comfortable shoes on the market. Proenza Schouler handbags. I was at a party and a woman had a smaller version of mine. When I asked where she got it, she said, “Target.” (MARIANNE: “Did you wish she hadn’t said that?”) Well she could have pretended.
MISSING FROM YOUR CLOSET
PAMELA: Alexander McQueen moves me. That’s what’s missing. Then there’s this Balenciaga handbag…
MARIANNE: As I’ve started to date, what’s missing are flirty, sexy things you want to wear across the dinner table from someone you’re interested in. I’ve rediscovered Helmut Lang. I’m tall and his pants are long enough for me, and I wanted something a little more hip. L’Agence makes silk blouses that look great with skinny jeans treated with a metallic wax coating. I love Graff & Lantz felt and leather bags.
HIGH LOW DRESSING:
PAMELA: The expensive bag that’s not in my wardrobe is going to my children’s snowboard training. I get so much more out of watching the kids grow and learn and compete.
MARIANNE: I get lots of compliments on a scarf I found at Old Navy Outlet for $9.99. Throwing that on with a designer blouse and my Joe’s Jeans and maybe a Wendy Stevens’ bag… High low dressing can be fun. Kind of tongue-in-cheek like a diamond necklace and Converse tennis shoes.
NAKED TRUTH
PAMELA: Years ago I had these thick Brooke Shields’ eyebrows. One day Marianne came over with an agenda and said, “Can we look at your eyebrows?” She started plucking them like crazy and then said, “Ok, we can go on with our day now.” It had been secretly on her radar for years.
FACELIFT OR BOTOX
MARIANNE: My girlfriends are talking about it more and more. I’ve enjoyed the aging process and the character I’ve been developing. For most of us, it’s been hard earned. It’s beautiful. It’s also important for women to feel the best they can. In Beverly Hills, women have overdone it. They don’t look like themselves anymore. At what point do we allow ourselves to become the women we worked so hard to be? BTW, If you’re going to have something done, make sure to tell the plastic surgeon to put your ears back on evenly.
PAMELA: I’m inspired by a friend of mine in her early 80s, who’s beautiful and hasn’t had any work done. I recently asked if she wished she’d done anything differently? She said, “The only thing I regret is not getting rid of this.” She grabbed the skin underneath her chin. “I should have had this taken off years ago.” I don’t think living authentically means avoiding cosmetic procedures. If you have something that bothers you, by all means, fix it. It’s important to remember to support one another when it comes to these kind of choices.
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