May Bartus Designs was started in 2005 by May Bartus in the San Francisco Bay Area. May resides outside of San Francisco with her husband and two young boys. May has also lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and New York City.

May attended the University of San Francisco, earning a degree in Marketing, and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, both in San Francisco.

May’s jewelry designing family heritage began in the 1940’s with her grandmother who started collecting and selling rare antique jade pieces. Many of the jade pieces found in the May Bartus Designs collection are antique jade passed down from May’s grandmother that cannot easily be found today.

May’s mother Grace continued the family tradition of jewelry design after attending the London School of Fashion. Grace creates vintage styled jewelry and evening purses adorned with Swarovski™ crystals that are distributed to name brand department stores throughout the world. Inspired by her family heritage and influenced by her travels throughout the world, May began her own distinct line of jewelry by creating signature custom pieces for friends, trunk shows and bridal parties.

May’s mother Grace is also actively involved in May Bartus Designs, and during the early days of May Bartus Designs you would often see May and Grace sitting across from each other in their garage studio collaborating on new and unique designs late into the night.

May’s reputation has quickly spread throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. We welcome you to explore our site and we would love to hear from you.