ALL ABOUT
Meet the "Diamond Duchess"
Bella Artistry is a niche, international clothing and furniture customization house known for exclusive wearable and functional curiosities and home decor, much of which is hand-studded with authentic Swarovski crystals - a signature of bling queen, Leah Miller's, brand.
Miller is a formally trained artist (BA in Studio Arts & a minor in Fine Arts from the University of Pittsburgh), who at the time of creation, was known and highly sought after in Chicago for painting elaborate murals on cathedral ceilings. She was also a frustrated shopper, mother, and wife of a professional athlete who felt she had nothing fun or special to wear to games.
"Up until the time I started Bella in 1995" Miller says, "there was really nothing unique for wives, kids, girlfriends, parents or friends of pro athletes to wear in support of their teams. So I began altering and embellishing the jerseys, shoes and accessories my daughter and I would wear to games and was making pieces for my fellow football wives as gifts."
Not only would she add crystals to the jerseys, but she would redesign them, cutting them to fit the bodies of those who own them. She would transform them into dresses, tunics or jackets, promoting their daddies, husbands or boyfriends. And they didn't just sparkle with crystals.... they were trimmed with imported lace, leather, chinchilla -- you fill in the blanks.
Eventually, she was embellishing anything and everything she could get her hands on: clothes, jerseys, doorknobs, beds, cabinets, shoes, belts, cake plates, Dom Perignon bottles, candles, pill boxes, frames, scrapbooks, pacifiers, hats, you name it. Miller added, "I guess the sparkle from all that Swarovski spotlighted my work, because other industry moms tired of typical sports apparel followed the light, and my business was born."
Now 31 years later, every high-maintenance player's wife or girlfriend knows Miller, affectionately known as "the Diamond Duchess," will make her a star. Her brand is recognized and supported by every professional sports league worldwide, professional team owners, Billboard-topping megastars and other A-List celebrities, British royalty and literal sheiks of Oman.
Since 2004, Bella Artistry has outfitted team owners and professional athletes and their families for every NFL Super Bowl, MLB World Series, NBA Playoff & Championship, NHL Playoff Championship, and more recently the FIFA World Cup, the PBR (Professional Bull Riders Organization) World Finals, and NASCAR.
Some of Bella's clients include Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, Harry Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owner of the 76ers, the McNair family of the Houston Texans, the Hunt family of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Illitch family (owners of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings), Tom Brady (NFL), DeMar DeRozan (NBA), Bryce Harper (MLB), Jamie Vardy & Harry Kane (top-tier European footballers), Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and thousands more. Bella has also collaborated with Nike and Under Armor.
Miller's designs have graced the stages of the BET awards, the MLB Awards, the NFL Hall of Fame Awards, the NBA All Stars, Garth Brooks concerts, and some of her creations are featured in the NE Patriots Hall of Fame and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Bella Artistry has been featured on TMZ, CBS New York, ABC Nation, Lifetime, ESPN, MarthaStewart.com, TheShadeRoom.com, Apple News, Bring It, the Official Bring It Live Tour, Real Housewives of Atlanta, Washington Post, The Knot, Sports Illustrated, People Magazine, and many more!
Take a Virtual Tour of the Bella Studio
Leah Miller
Interviewed by Shelly Kovach
Leah Miller
"The Diamond Duchess"
Leah started Bella Artistry by herself in a 4" x 7" spare closet... and by the hand of God, and a lot of hard work, Bella Artistry Studios and Boutique now operate out of a 5000+ sq. ft state-of-the-art facility with more than 20 full and part time employees. She is a living testimony of what God will do if you put Him first in all things and trust His plan and purpose for your life.
Leah is a mother of four children ranging in age from 7 to 22. A true artist, she earned a BA in Studio Arts with a triple minor in Fine Arts, Meteorology and Geology from the University of Pittsburgh.
