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The Paul McGhee Division

Alexia Crawford

B.A. in Social Sciences, with a concentration in History

[Part 1] | [Part 2]

The Laila Rowe boutiques have quickly become popular among women in New York seeking high-quality, trendy discounted jewelry and accessories.  In just four short years, co-owner Alexia Crawford has managed the chain’s explosive growth from just one Upper West Side location to over 22 retail stores across the United States.

Crawford credits her dad with first fostering her love for semi-precious stones in her native Australia.  This eventually led her to begin designing and selling women’s jewelry from her kitchen table in 1993.   Positive customer reactions to her creations at local flea markets, community centers, and the like inspired Crawford to plunge full-time into the jewelry business.

Like many of her peers, she left Sydney University after her third year to live and work abroad.  Crawford never went back, living first in London, England and then in New York.  So despite her already busy life as a successful entrepreneur, wife, and by now mother of three, there was one more piece of the puzzle left unfinished: her goal to earn her college degree.

Crawford enrolled at NYU-SCPS’s Paul McGhee Division, attending classes part time in the evenings and weekends, all the while launching the Laila Rowe stores.  She graduated from McGhee in 2005 with a B.A. in Social Sciences and a concentration in history.