Beaufort jewelry designer puts pearl of wisdom in every piece
Kayla Derrick has a message for women: You're beautiful.
As a reminder, the Beaufort jewelry designer and owner of circa1910 hides a freshwater pearl in each of her accessories.
Sometimes the pearls are obvious, featured in the center of a pendant necklace or evenly dispersed between gemstones. But more often than not, they are inconspicuously strung between other beads and not noticeable at all.
The idea is to make the wearer aware of her inner beauty, Derrick, 24, said. "We want every woman to know her beauty."
The pearls, besides being classically alluring, are an homage to Derrick's great-great-grandmother, Pearl, who was born in 1910. Pearl was the creative matriarch of the family, and could make anything if given a needle and some thread.
"Everyone tells me I'm a lot like her," said Derrick, who herself was sewing beads onto her T-shirts and jeans at age 10. "So I knew I had to do something to keep her memory alive."
Despite her artistic inclinations, Derrick pursued a degree in occupational therapy at Augusta State University (now Georgia Regents University) and made jewelry on the side. She dropped out after one semester and two years ago started circa1910.
"I've never looked back since," she said.
On a typical weekend, you can find Derrick at a local flea market or antique store hunting through bins of odds and ends. She is constantly in search of vintage baubles for her jewelry designs. Old perfume containers, rusty coins and keys, chandelier pieces and tassels are especially prized.
The fact that each of her designs are one-of-a-kind make them popular with local stores, said Christina Dzendzel of Hilton Head store Coastal Bliss, one of Derrick's best-selling retailers.
"Our customers love her stuff," Dzendzel said. "It doesn't look like anything else we have."
Derrick makes earrings, bracelets and necklaces, but the necklaces are by far the most popular, she said. She named one of her more recent necklace lines after her mom, Michelle, a breast cancer survivor. Ten percent of the proceeds go to My Hope Chest, a nonprofit organization that helps pay for reconstructive surgery for breast cancer survivors.
Michelle Derrick was emotional when she spoke of her cancer fight and her daughter's jewelry line in her name. The message about inner beauty certainly hits home to her, she said. "Growing up I've always had a low self-esteem. It was a trait I never ever wanted to pass onto my kids." It was only after having a mastectomy that she realized, "your body does not make you who you are, it's your heart," she said.
"Of course Kayla with her big heart (told) me, 'Mom, you're beautiful.'"
Where you can buy circa1910 jewelry:Finicky Filly in Charleston, Zoe's Accessories in Beaufort, Coastal Bliss on Hilton Head Island.
Related content:
- http://circa1910jewelry.com/
- Jewelry designer Roberto Coin, known for his ruby signature, to visit Hilton Head shop
This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Beaufort jewelry designer puts pearl of wisdom in every piece."