Joan Hornig ’84 has groupies. “I’m flattered when people recognize my work,” says Hornig, whose handmade earrings and necklaces can be found at Bergdorf Goodman, “but what’s most rewarding is learning about and supporting so many different nonprofit organizations.”
Hornig donates 100 percent of her profits to educational causes that are selected by her clients. Her contributions through her eponymous foundation, which she established in 2003, already total more than $250,000 and span a broad range of philanthropic entities in 22 states. “I always knew that I wanted to support and promote education,” says Hornig, who served as the School’s director of corporate relations after earning her MBA. “If Paul Newman can support a cause through food products, why couldn’t I design a whole jewelry line that supports a cause, and why couldn’t that cause be as individualized as the wearer of each necklace or set of earrings?”
Hornig features certain signature elements in her designs — for example, she often uses hinges and holes, which she considers “symbolic of piercing the veil of ignorance,” as well as 18-stone patterns derived from the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew letters that spell chaim (“life”). When she’s not designing jewelry in her home office, Hornig works part-time as a hedge fund consultant. “I love the details of design as well as the world of financial products and investing,” she says. “I’m very lucky that I can do both.”