Keyed Up

When I recently met football legend Joe Montana with his wife Jennifer, I was suddenly nostalgic for the days when my sports obsessed family would drag me to Candlestick Park. All those San Francisco 49er games…however this quarterback made those outings a lot easier to endure. The Montanas have long been Bay Area philanthropists giving back to local charities, and now Jennifer- along with partner Julie Wallunas- is combining design and philanthropy through Jennifer Montana Design, a line of eclectic, casual and beautiful jewelry. Her mission statement is to create jewelry inspired by her family, and to improve the lives of the underprivileged- through economic opportunity and support- by employing individuals from Harbor House, a non-profit community center in Oakland where these pieces are made.

The exclusive jewelry collection, Chain Reaction, is comprised of necklaces and pins with keys attached. Each key is engraved with one of ten motivational words such as faith, love, dream, strength and more. According to Jennifer, the significance of these keys is they’re recyclable, have a life to them, and open doors to new opportunities- and just may open the key to your heart. Each collection is named after her four children, and the entire line- along with vintage pieces comprised of sterling silver, diamonds and pearls- was recently showcased at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, where JMD held its first trunk show. Last month, Jennifer personally designed a specialty Beast Mode Key necklace- a one-of-a-kind unisex necklace and speciality addition to JMD’s Chain Reaction- in honor of Seattle Seahawks running back sensation- and newly minted Super Bowl champion- Marshawn Lynch and his charity FAM 1st Family Foundation. Eighty percent of JMD’s proceeds after taxes go to the Montana Family Foundation which primarily helps children’s causes and family-based organizations. Charm and compassion seems to be Jennifer’s key to success. I’d say she definitely scored.  www.jennifermontanadesign.com