Mignon Faget “Celebrates the Good” With Whimsical Mardi Gras Collection

By Karen Dybis | February 28, 2025

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is a citywide pre-Lenten celebration with parades, costumes, food, music, and art—and in the case of locally based brand Mignon Faget, it’s a time to wear new jewelry.

Mignon Faget’s Mardi Gras collection for 2025 highlights the holiday’s history and fun, like handmade bead dogs. Yes, you read that right: bead dogs. We’ll let Mignon Faget’s CEO, Maghan Oroszi, explain.

“The bead dog designs are so specific to the local community that we were afraid it would be hard to explain to those outside of New Orleans or those who didn’t experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans as a child,” Oroszi tells JCK.

Mignon Faget Mardi Gras — *Mardi Gras traditions such as bead dogs and the colors of gold, green, and purple are represented in Mignon Faget’s collection. The limited-edition Bead Dog necklace ($160) is shown here in bronze.*

“As children, the pause between parades can feel like an eternity, and there’s downtime to throw a football, have your face painted, or start a small craft—like making a bead dog,” Oroszi says. “From the simplest string of Mardi Gras beads, children can easily twist them into a shape that comes out looking like a dog. Much like friendship bracelets, children learn to make these, show their friends how to make them, and trade them with each other along the route.”

Mignon Faget has transformed this nostalgic tradition with gold, sterling silver, and bronze into jewels to keep that Mardi Gras magic from childhood with people forever. “Our Petit Bead Dog necklace and ear studs in sterling silver and 14k gold are great everyday staples for any Mardi Gras or dog lover. You don’t have to have a personal connection to the design to appreciate how precious it is,” Oroszi says.

Other pieces in the collection feature the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold, which Oroszi says do well for the season, for obvious reasons. Mignon Faget also designs a limited-edition Mardi Gras necklace every year, and it always sells out, she says.

“We love to play with the colors and give them our own twist, so the Rainbow Hemalyke mixed with faceted crystals create a unique shine,” Oroszi says.

Mignon Faget bead dog — *Bead Dog pendant in 14k gold with Rainbow Hemalyke, $3,265*

“We definitely appreciate and rely on what Mardi Gras does for our business and economy as a city,” says Oroszi. “The tourists and parade goers from around the world descend on our city to enjoy everything it has to offer. From amazing restaurants to wildlife tours to shopping in our historic neighborhoods, every business is affected each year by the influx of visitors we have during the Mardi Gras season.”

Mardi Gras and Mignon Faget are sacred to Oroszi, who’s lived in New Orleans for more than 20 years and has been with the jewelry company—a New Orleans institution—for over a decade (she became CEO after founder Mignon Faget retired in 2024).

“Mardi Gras is so much more than just a time for revelry—it is a time when everyone in New Orleans comes together and puts aside all of our differences, worries, and complaints and celebrates the good,” Oroszi says. “It’s a time when everyone is on the same level and communities merge to collectively be joyful in spite of any other issues that may have taken place within the year and going into the next.”

Top: Bead Dog sunglasses are one item in New Orleans–based jewelry brand Mignon Faget’s Mardi Gras collection, which also includes crown pendants, King Cake ornaments, bracelets, necklaces, and more. (Photos courtesy of Mignon Faget).