New York Post, Monday, August 19, 2019nypost.com29cookie tin full of jewelry in Army
pants and a cutoff T-shirt,” says Mi-
nadeo. “I think everyone was be-
mused.”
One day, he got a call
from costume designer
Marlene Stewart, ask-
ing if he would cre-
ate some one-of-a-
kind cross pieces
for Madonna’s “Like
a Virgin” tour. Stew-
art also gave Mi-
nadeo a pair of plain
brocade heels with in-
structions to give them
his signature flourish. A
week later, the Material Girl wore
the pearl-encrusted pumps for her
1985 wedding to Sean Penn.
“I was sworn to secrecy,” says Mi-
nadeo. He never even met his famous
client. “She’s a genius,” he says, “but
you get the sense that she never [pro-
moted] anyone but herself.”
Not so Cher. In the mid-’80s, she
had the designer personally deliver a
pair of earrings she ordered. “Her
younger lover [Josh Donen] an-
swered the door, took a look at me in
my goatee and beret and said, ‘Honey,
Che Guevara’s here.’ ”
“She was the most matter-of-fact,
toughest person I’ve ever met,” hesays, adding that Cher had him re-
work the door knockers countless
times. “But she was really great and
cool.”
Minadeo never changed his aes-
thetic, and once mid-’90s minimalism
rolled around, fashion-followers no
longer wanted his wares. He lost or-
ders at stores like Barneys, and after
trying to hawk his jewelry elsewhere,
he gave up and took a job at a record
store.
He was happily retired for five
years, and admits that it took some
persuading from Rodriguez to get
him back into jewelry. But he’s glad he
gave in.
“Technically my work is much bet-
ter — I feel freer,” he says.
Minadeo says he will continue mak-
ing his gems on his kitchen table in
Jersey City as long as Resurrection
will have him. But he still walks dogs:
“This may all be gone tomorrow,” he
says.
In the meantime, his jewelry is at-
tracting a new generation of pop
stars, such as Miley Cyrus, who has
been sporting an armful of his freshly
made bracelets.
And Minadeo is reveling in the un-
expected success. “How many people
get a second chance like this so late in
life?” he says.By RAQUEL LANERII
N the 1980s and early ’90s, Rich-
ard Minadeo created jewels for
rock royalty. Fans of his chunky
gold pieces — studded with
rhinestones, sharp-carved beads
and religious imagery — included
Cher, Carly Simon and Madonna.
Then, in the early 2000s, he disap-
peared. “I didn’t think I would make
jewelry again,” the now-70-year-old
tells The Post, after his in-your-face
baubles went out of style. “I was walk-
ing dogs to supplement my Social
Security.”
Now, Minadeo is back, creating his
signature goth-glam jewels for celeb-
favorite fashion mecca Resurrection
Vintage. The one-of-a-kind gems —
which sell for $350 to $650 — are
available at Resurrection’s Noho
store, as well as its pop-up boutique
inside the new Neiman Marcus at
Hudson Yards.
“His stuff flies off the shelves,” says
Katy Rodriguez, Resurrection’s
co-founder, who sent Minadeo a
Facebook message last fall, coaxing
him out of retirement. “I thought I
would be placing new orders once a
month, but it’s been every week.”
“He definitely has a singular vi-
sion,” she adds, describing his aes-
thetic as “punk” yet “luxe.” And, she
says, his handmade work
“retains its soul.”
The Bronx-born Mi-
nadeo says that as a kid,
he was inspired by his
mother, a former
model who hosted
jewelry-selling parties.
“I remember she had
this compact with
rhinestones on it that I
was mesmerized by,” says
the designer.
He studied art and illustra-
tion at the Fashion Institute of Tech-
nology and the School of Visual Arts,
before moving to California. In San
Francisco, he signed up for an altar-
making class on a whim, inspired by
the funky roadside shrines he saw in
his travels.
His altars, made of broken flea-mar-
ket finds, impressed his professor,
who suggested he try his hand at jew-
elry. Soon, he was selling to local Bay
Area shops, before going back to New
York City to meet with fashion edi-
tors and buyers.
“I remember going to an appoint-
ment at Bendel’s, and everyone is so
dressed up and I’m there with myTamara Beckwith/NY Post; Inset: L. Paul Mann for Grateful WebStyle&Beauty
At home in Jersey City, Richard Minadeo (above) creates one-of-a-kind
baubles, made from rare vintage pieces and unusual flea-market finds. His
eye-catching style attracts the likes of Miley Cyrus (in his bracelets, below).Madonna and Cher’s
former go-to jeweler
is making a
triumphant comeback
Bathing suit: Figleaves
“Rene” underwired frill
bandeau bikini top, $40,
and Figleaves “Rene”
classic frill bikini, $22 both
at Figleaves.com;
Shoes: Louise et Cie
“Ramsaye” wedge sandal,
$129 at VinceCamuto.com
SHE HAD AN
INCREDIBLE
WEIGHT-LOSS
JOURNEY
After shedding more than
60 pounds, Tracey Hodo
longed to finally wear the
two-piece bathing suit of
her dreams.
But there was one big
problem: She had hanging
skin on her stomach and
breasts where her excess
fat had once settled.
“It was a painful reminder
of how much weight I’d
gained before losing it,”
admits the 51-year-old hair
stylist.
The mother of two from
Bridgewater, NJ, had
worked hard to drop the
pounds through a strict
diet. She says she had
gained the weight due to
issues with “portion
control.” It took eight
months — and eliminating
sugar and white flour — but
by November 2016, the
5-foot-tall Hodo was able
to shrink down to 125
pounds, after hitting an all-
time high of 189.
She also started lifting
weights to build muscle. “It
was my fantasy to look
good in a bikini,” she says.
But in her mind, the
remaining loose skin stood
in her way. So, in August
2017, she paid $16,000 for a
so-called “Mommy
Makeover” by New Jersey-
and Manhattan-based
plastic surgeon John Paul
Tutela, which involved
removing a pound of skin as
part of a tummy tuck,
abdominal surgery to repair
post-pregnancy muscle
separation, a breast lift and
augmentation.
“The surgeon knew
exactly how to get rid of the
skin and give me breasts
that are appropriate for a
woman of my age and my
size,” says Hodo of her
32DDD implants.
She first wore that much-
anticipated bikini last
summer, just before her
50th birthday.
“If felt wonderful,” she
recalls of wearing a chic all-
black swimsuit on vacation
with husband, John, to
Cancun, Mexico. “I actually
felt complete.”