Arts & Culture Magazine - March/April 2008 - (Page 47) How One Sarasota Couple Creates Beauty Through Jewelry Millicent Kennedy and her partner, David Hart, have filled their lives with beauty. The duo brought their already successful jewelry business to Sarasota from Cleveland when they moved here in 2000. Now, they spend their days doing what they love: designing and creating jewelry, renovating their home in the country and soaking up the natural splendor that surrounds them. Bringing together their diverse experiences—Millicent’s other creative pursuits in catering and interior design and David’s mind for logistics and execution as a general contractor—they have been able to create a unique design aesthetic, while drawing inspiration from their Florida surroundings. “We never looked back,” says Millicent. “We love Sarasota and its sense of intimacy.” Millicent bought her first pieces of jewelry on a trip around the world during college. Her love (and collection) grew from there. Raising three daughters after a divorce, she started selling her jewelry as a way to work from home when the girls were young. “I came to realize that the pieces that people liked most, I had designed,” she says. Using her turn-of-the century Victorian home as the backdrop for appointments, her first shows were almost tea parties with gems as the centerpiece. “We’d have a fire in the fireplace, finger sandwiches, pastries and tea, and champagne near Valentine’s Day. Our clients would look forward to the goodies while we looked at my designs,” she says. “It became a real experience.” With her personal approach and talent for design, Millicent’s business took off. And when she and David met, he joined the fun. “He saw what I was doing and wanted to support my creativity, so he took courses in jewelry assembly and goldsmithing. He did it because he wanted to spend time with me,” she says, adding, “It was a perfect fit because he is extremely detail-oriented.” Making their clients feel good also drives the couple. “Gems have energy. They come out of the earth, so when someone wears one of our pieces, they feel different. You can see it on their faces. We keep our creative service by appointment only because our clients enjoy the oneon-one experience.” That personal attention extends to each necklace, bracelet or pair of earrings they design. All of their pieces are one of a kind. Above all, Millicent and David— whose daughters Alice, Beatrice and Eve have all played important roles in the family business—believe in the power of jewelry. “You can’t eat jewelry and still it feeds your soul,” Millicent says. “That is priceless.” ONLINE PHOTO www.artsandculturemag.com latagems.com arts and culture magazine : : 47 http://www.artsandculturemag.com http://latagems.com
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