Ranch & Coast Magazine

I was eager to sit down with Polny, who has received widespread publicity as a jewelry designer and recently opened an atelier — what she calls her "little jewel box" — on Via de Santa Fe in Rancho Santa Fe where she meets with clients by appointment. She is also a passionate philanthropist who supports Curebound, which raises money for collaborative cancer research through its signature annual event, Padres Pedal the Cause, taking place this year on Saturday, April 9, at Petco Park. Additionally, Polny supports Promises2Kids, Feeding San Diego, e Ecology Center's Nourishing Neighbors program benefiting the food insecure, and Present Now, which provides care packages for domestic violence shelters. She is also donating 30 percent of the proceeds from her online jewelry sales to Save the Children in war-torn Ukraine, where her jewelry maker, who is of Ukrainian descent, has family. Over the years, Polny has received international recognition for her jewelry designs, which have been worn by celebrities including Hollywood stars and British royals. Meghan Markle was widely pictured in the media from the British tabloids to glossy magazines, including the cover of Vanity Fair, wearing Polny's "Dash Ear Studs." Although Polny says she is extremely grateful for her success, she is reluctant to talk about her clients, both past and present, in deference to their privacy. Polny began designing jewelry when she couldn't find the perfect engagement ring, so she designed her own, a striking piece centered with an uncut diamond sourced from India. e woman she hired to make the ring asked Polny to design more pieces. Eventually, Polny left her job at a fashion company, after her daughter was born, to design jewelry full time. She named the company Zofia Day after her daughter and in honor of her late Polish grandmother who was also named Zofia. (e name runs in the family — Zofia is Polny's middle name, too.) Polny and her husband moved to Encinitas from Los Angeles when their daughter was six months old. ey had grown tired of living in a "concrete jungle" and the long commutes, along with demanding careers that meant less time with family. ey were also familiar with North County. Polny's oldest sister, Julie Zozaya, is the longtime owner of Julie's Beach Life in Del Mar, and their parents recently moved to Rancho Santa Fe. "e minute I drove onto this property, I felt I would be here forever," Polny recalls thinking after the couple found a guest house to rent on Craig's List. "It's tucked on a truly magnificent piece of land. You have the amazing ocean view to the west, a eucalyptus grove and natural ravine where the upper half of Cottonwood Creek lies to the north, a sycamore grove to the south, and a citrus grove to the east. You can feel the energetic vortex of all the amazing elements of nature." e land's historic use by local Native Americans as a route between what's now Moonlight Beach and Olivenhain also appealed to the couple who eventually talked the owner into selling them the property. A property-wide renovation was a four-year project completed in three phases: garden cottages, artist studios, and the main house, which they took down to the studs. Built in 1927, the home was a former bootleggers' cottage. "We literally found over a thousand bottles," says Polny. "It was wild." e couple, dismayed by developments in Encinitas and other communities that value quantity over quality, did not want to build a box — nor a mansion — on the site. "We do our best to be conscious in what we actually need in a home and protecting and preserving as much of the natural landscape as possible. So, we maintained exactly the same footprint," she says. ey did, however, bring the master bathroom inside the house (previously, it had been a true outhouse) and opened up the living room to the outside through sliding glass doors. << >> The couple used lots of wood in floors and cabinetry to add warmth. Kitchen cabinets were handmade by David Taylor Development. The Italian stove is by Bertazoni, and fixtures are from Rohl. Countertops are quartz ranchandcoast.com @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE APRIL 2022 85

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