i want every bracelet from kate&karen unique beaded jewelry!

I discovered kate&karen unique beaded jewelry through one of my Facebook friends, and quickly befriended Kate Willinger Manfredi who creates the stunning pieces with her sister, Karen Willinger Leigh. What I love about their jewelry is that these pieces work as well with jeans as they do with a little black dress. Check them out and start making your wish list. Remember that Mother’s Day is coming up!

I can’t wait to meet Kate — who is warm, smart and hilarious — in person but, meanwhile, here’s a little of our online conversation.

Kate, your jewelry is gorgeous and I’ve been drooling over every piece. It seems like you must have been doing this your whole life – but you haven’t! What made you decide to finally take the leap?

My sister and partner, Karen, and I used to make the most fabulous beaded necklaces many, many years ago. Karen has been creative her whole life – starting with metalsmithing silver jewelry as a teen-ager and then going on to study at the New York School of Interior Design and become an Interior Designer with her own business. I’ve spent my life from age 17 until two years ago as a professional actress and singer, which gave me access to all kinds of creativity. I had been making beaded necklaces a few years ago, and then got into scrapbooking, so I was always creating something.

I live in Michigan and about a year and a half ago started making beaded bracelets and selling them on Facebook to friends. Even though we talk at least once a day, unbeknownst to me, Karen was taking jewelry beading classes at the 92nd Street Y in NYC, where she lives. When we discovered we were both working with beaded jewelry, we decided to form kate&karen unique beaded jewelry.

Why did you choose beads as your medium?

Last Christmas, I was given a Chan Luu-style beaded leather wrap bracelet by a very good friend. I wore it every day and people started asking me how they could get one, so I set about learning how to make them myself.  There are so many beautiful semi-precious and precious gemstones that are available as beads in all sizes, shapes, and textures, and it’s great fun to incorporate those with other elements like leather and knotting cord or thread and great buttons because the possibilities are limitless.

You and your sister are partners in kate&karen, and on your website you describe the relationship as “sibling revelry.” I love that! How much fun is it to work with your sister?

It’s more than fun. We have been sister soul mates since I was 14 years old and Karen was 22. When we’re together working, there’s a level at which we become so punchy that we have tears running down our faces from laughter.

The friendship bracelet is one of your signature pieces, and I know there’s a story behind it. Can you share that with us?

The story of kate&karen’s Friendship Bracelet is a very personal one and we share it on our website so it will feel personal to our customers, as well. After my friend gave me my first wrap bracelet, I wore it every day and after a while it started to look a little worn so I took it apart to re-string it. Once all the beads were in my bead tray, I had an idea to split up the beads, add some accents, and make two bracelets – one for me and one for my friend – as a symbol of our friendship. All profits from the Friendship Bracelet go to charity.

Philanthropy is very important to you. Can you tell us what charities are especially meaningful to you and how you help support them?

What we know is that giving makes you feel good.

Our first love is dogs and animals so we work with the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

We think that the people who work with Doctors Without Borders are truly saints and also believe Autism Speaks, the Big Mama of organizations focusing on autism, is another great charity.

Lastly, Karen and I were raised by “peaceniks” so we contribute toThe Wounded Warrior Project, which does outstanding work.

All the profits from our Friendship Bracelets go to one of these charities. Customers can choose one or let us evenly distribute the profits among the four charities.

As women of a certain age, we can definitely relate to your message that you’re in the “second act” of your life. What are some of the life lessons you’ve learned that have helped you get to where you are now?

Well, Karen and I grew up with great financial security thanks to a generous father who was successful in business. We had an expectation, which he nurtured, that we would always be very well taken care of, even after his death. However, and this is not a new story, we had a stepmother … So, when our father died four years ago, there was nothing left to us in his will. Nothing. Karen got breast cancer soon after that, and my husband and I lost our full time jobs so we were really struggling. It was, to a large degree, our own fault. We had not developed ambition because things had come so easily. So at 62 and 53 years old, respectively, Karen and I had to totally re-create ourselves and learn to be financially self-sufficient. How much easier our lives would have been if we had learned this lesson in our 20’s and 30’s!

What do you want customers to know about Kate&Karen?

That we don’t use the word “unique” lightly and work hard to offer designs that really stand out. Also, every single bracelet is custom made for each individual customer so sizing is never an issue and we can make small changes to any bracelet on our site to create one of a kind pieces. Every bracelet is made by hand in the USA by one of us with lots of care and love.

We try to make our personalities come through with comments about every bracelet on the product pages so that customers get the back story – and, often, a good laugh! 

This post originally appeared on my former blog, StyleSubstanceSoul.