Faget launched her first ready-to-wear line in 1969 in a studio in the Riverbend neighborhood of New Orleans. Faget studied sculpture at Newcomb then transitioned to design at D.H. Holmes Department store. While making a belt one day, Faget melted down wedding gifts into a design reminiscent of sand dollars and the sea. When customers saw the design, they asked to wear the shells as pendants, inspiring her to look further into creating accessories. Since then, Faget has worked primarily in jewelry, creating sculptural jewelry inspired by nature and animals specifically, from Louisiana. She renovated a barge board cottage and it became the early headquarters housing her studio, jewelry workshop and retail gallery for many years. In 1997, she renovated a neo-classical former bank building to house her company, in addition to having galleries in
New Orleans,
Metairie, and
Baton Rouge. After opening her new facility, she donated her original location on Dublin Street to the
Preservation Resource Center.
Collections and commissions Faget has designed special commissions for various organizations, including the
Preservation Resource Center, Desire NOLA, Woodlands Trail and Park,
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, the
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the
New Orleans Museum of Art, the Junior League of New Orleans, the Louisiana Nature Center at the
Audubon Nature Institute, and the Friends of the
Audubon Zoo, among others. Her designs for
Newcomb College feature the motif of the oak tree, a prominent symbol in the college's history. She has also designed jewelry for various New Orleans
Mardi Gras krewes for their annual balls.
Inspiration Her jewelry is often inspired by her local environment, such as
New Orleans architecture and culture or based on forms in nature. Faget describes her work as a "crossover between a jeweled accessory and a piece of jewelry". However, she has also made work drawing inspiration from man-made elements such as architecture and place-based culture.
Materials She fabricates in gold, sterling silver, bronze, precious, and semi-precious stones. She also designs items for personal and home adornment and gifts. ==Philanthropy==