Zoom Image

Deep Magazine - Fresh Heirlooms (May/June 2005)

Ask Turq Jewelry designers Kat and Lee how Southern culture has influenced their success, and the answer is simple: “We only design what we ourselves would wear.” Subtext: We are Southern culture. Spoken like a couple of true trendsetters.

Nicknamed after turquoise, “the one color that looks good on everyone” according to the designers, Turq Jewelry is rapidly gaining recognition for its distinguished yet playful pieces of wearable art. It’s a success story that was born and raised below the Mason-Dixon line.

Charlotte native Katherine Weeks Mulford met Richmond belle Lee Addison Lesley at work: a large online branding and web design firm in Atlanta. Both hand crafted jewelry for friends in their spare time. “Our graphic design clients were banks and legal firms, so the work was really dry” recalls Kat. “We designed our jewelry website in part just to be able to show potential clients how colorful and fun our graphic design could be. We emailed the link to about fifty of our friends, and jewelry business just took off overnight. Now, we get to work full-time on Turq Jewelry – and we love it.”

Since that impromptu email, Turq Jewelry has appeared on The Today Show and adorned television celebrities like Leeza Gibbons and Headline News anchor Kathleen Kennedy. But while the clean, bold graphic designs and high-quality, semi-precious materials make the perfect foils for conservative TV-anchor wardrobes, they’re also right at home with your basic jeans-and-a-top combo.

By no means limited to turquoise, Turq jewelry employs all the colors of coral, quartz, citrine, amethyst and pearls. “We always say, ‘When you’re bored with your closet, that’s when Turq Jewelry comes in,’” laughs Kat.

Isn’t that (Semi) Precious?
That blend of good taste and confident artistry is the signature look for Tur q, ensuring, in pure Dixie heirloom tradition, that all generations can wear this jewelry. “We all have a set of pearls that belonged to Grandma that we pull out on special occasions,” Lee notes. “But they’re so predictable. Why not add some color? Why not add some irregular stones or extra strands? We want to hand down a fresh set of pearls to our granddaughters; something exciting.”

These women are truly designing for our lifestyle and culture. “We’ve learned as web designers that good business is about much more than the brand or the product, it’s about giving your customers an experience,” comments Lee. That’s why Turq pieces are categorized under such charming, intrinsically Southern social situations as “Tuesday Supper Club”, “Saturday Shoe Shopping” and “Meeting His Parents.”

Turq’s colors for summer are as tropical and juicy as fashion itself. The designs are bold, graphic, and sometimes even gravity-defying. But Turq’s signature summer designs go right back to basics, to the color and the stone that look good on everyone.

The Turquoise collection rebirths the jewelry – and nods to fashion’s international appeal – with fresh finishes and designs. Ranging from greener shades (like bubbly, coral-accented Eleanor necklace) to stately marine blue (like the layered Ann Whitten choker), turquoise has never before made such a nuanced, passionate appeal for self-expression.

“We name each piece after a friend of ours, because each is designed with a friend’s personality in mind,” comments Lee. “So when a woman selects the Turq piece she’s going to wear tonight, she’s choosing the personality and attitude she’s going to channel.” Of course, with such an exuberant collection of personalities to choose from, you really can’t go wrong

Deep Magazine

Email to a Friend

Print Page

NEXT:

Town & Country - Wedding Issue (February 2005) 35 Wedding Must-Haves. Turq Lingerie Bag Set is featured in the Town & Country February 2005 Wedding Issue!