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Atlanta Magazine - Young Turqs (October 2004)

The Accidental Jewelers Friends Katherine Mulford and Lee Lesley were toiling away at a corporate consulting firm, holding their breath each time the pink slips were passed. "We'd survived about five rounds of layoffs before deciding to go off on our own," Mulford says. But not to become jewelry designers: They originally planned to design websites for small businesses. As a prototype, they set up a Web site featuring some necklaces they'd created in their spare time. The next morning, their voice mail was full of orders. "Then we thought, maybe this jewelry thing is going to be our bread and butter," Lesley jokes.

Precious Things Though the ladies use every stone from peridot to garnet to lavender quartz, one oft-used gem reflects their Southern heritage: pearls. "We'll use all different shades and mother-of-pearl in designs are funky, conservative or in between," Mulford says. Sold on their Web site and at more than 70 stores nationwide, Turq Jewelry has been worn by celebs including Angie Harmon, Leeza Gibbons and Kathleen Kennedy of CNN Headline News. Their new bridal line is flying off the shelves.

What's in a Name The moniker comes from their love of the gemstone turquoise, but it also has a symbolic meaning. "Turquoise is the one color that transcends all color types and skin tones," says Lesley. This property reflects Turq Jewelry's cross-demographic appeal: sassy enough for twenty-somethings, yet classic enough for baby boomers.

Atlanta Magazine

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