If you bump into an old friend who will ask you, “Do you have a piece of Kendra Scott jewelry?” Unless your life revolves around jewelry 24/7, your answer will most likely be, “Kendra who?”
Kendra Scott Jewelry
Kendra Scott jewelry has evolved from being a backyard business to a billion-dollar company. The designer’s story is sure to inspire jewelry design enthusiasts. But before we dive into Kendra’s craft, let’s first explore the background of this great jewelry designer.
Who is Kendra Scott?
Kendra was born on March 27, 1974, in Kenosha, Wisconsin (remember that famous Kyle Rittenhouse story?), in a well-settled Christian family.
Though she does not reveal the identities of her parents, the grapevine reveals that her father was a businessman, and her mom was a homemaker.
She was born Kendra Baumgartner. At the age of 16, the family moved to Houston, Texas. From sketchy reports, it was here that her mom separated from her father and remarried. While Kendra is not so open about her stepdad, it seems that she got along well with him to write:
“My stepfather was a two-tour Vietnam veteran. an Army Captain and a Purple Heart recipient. Every day, he taught me the importance of doing good and serving others, through his bravery and kindness. I will always be so thankful to the men and women like Bob who have served and died for the country.”
In Houston, she enrolled at Klein High School. After that, she enrolled at Texas A&M for her higher studies. However, at 19 she dropped out and moved to Austin to take care of her ailing stepfather. It was here that she decided to focus on her budding fashion career. Even as a teenager, she already decided to devote her time to jewelry making. In fact, she was already making jewelry in her Austin home and thought it was the proper time to go big time.
She got married to John Scott On June 24, 2oo0. This ended up in a divorce in 2006. Eight years later, she got married to Austinite Matt Davis. This, too, ended up in a divorce in September 2020.
As per official records, she has three sons with John.
Kendra’s professional life
Kendra is a successful American businesswoman, fashion, designer, social media influencer, Instagram star, television personality, and entrepreneur.
At present, she is one of the most famous women in the United States, being the executive chairwoman and chief designer of Kendra Scott LLC.
Kendra is also fully aware of her social responsibility. In this respect, she established the Kendra Cares Program—a charitable organization. To date, the organization has donated millions of dollars to various groups that need help the most. She is also known to have donated $1 million to the University of Texas to launch the Kendra Scott Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute.
She formally opened her jewelry business in 2002, calling it Kendra Scott LLC, and designed her first collection for $500. Before that, however, she ventured into her first business called The Hat Box, which designed hats for women undergoing chemotherapy business. Then she started making jewelry in her home in Austin, Texas.
The long hard climb
Her journey to success started with beating on the doors of every jewelry store in Austin, selling her creations. Her persistence paid off. Pretty soon, various boutiques in the area finally agreed to her buy designs.
Then in 2005, her designs were chosen to accessorize Oscar de la Renta’s spring 2006 runway show. The winds of change, however, almost made her business collapse when the financial crisis came in 2007.
But life never lets a good man, or woman down. Before money problems wiped out her business for good, she got an order from Nordstrom. This unexpected fortune allowed her to open her first retail store on Austin’s South Congress Avenue—a nationally known shopping and cultural district famous for its many eclectic small retailers, restaurants, music and art venues, and food trucks.
Kendra’s becoming a successful fashion designer and jewelry maker is a classic example of the fruits of persistence and hard work. At present, she has 102 retail stores in different countries. Aside from that she also has an e-commerce jewelry business.
Awards and honors
Kendra’s hard work and perseverance earned her the following awards:
- Accessories Council Excellence Awards
- Outstanding Mother of the Year
- Texas Businesswoman of the Year
- Top 100 Entrepreneurs of the Year
- CEO of the Year
Did Kendra Scott go on Shark Tank?
Yes, she did. But not the kind you have in mind, which is a tank full of sharks.
The Shark Tank is a critically acclaimed reality show centered on entrepreneurship. This multi-Emmy Award-winning show is on its eleventh season at ABC.
What did Kendra from Shark Tank do?
Kendra appeared in Season 12 (episode 1,215) with Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, and Kevin O’Leary.
During her guest appearance, Kendra talked about her first business, the Hat Box, which specializes in comfortable hats for women undergoing chemotherapy.
Kendra Scott Jewelry
Just like any successful company, Kendra Scott Jewelry soon attracted some moneyed investors and speculators. And Berkshire Partners was one of them. So in February 2017, Berkshire Partners became a co-owner of Kendra Scott LLC.
Is Kendra Scott Jewelry Special?
The fact that Kendra Scott LLC is a billion-dollar company removes all doubts. In the real sense, it is special because apart from making high-quality jewelry, its designs are unique and versatile. Kendra is innovative in crafting jewelry pieces using different materials and techniques. These are shown by the following examples:
Use of dichroic glass
Dichroic glass is a multi-layer coated glass. Kendra uses it to create a kaleidoscopic effect on some of her signature Kendra Scott jewelry earrings and and necklaces.
Use of illusion
Kendra has mastered the illusion effect in her designs like what she did on her mother-of-pearl (like the one in this Maison Birks review) and ivory jewelry designs.
For example, she binds several shells together with dyed resin, then cracks them. The result is a stunning finish on the shell’s natural look. She calls it Kendra Scott’s Sky Blue Illusion.
Application of filigree design
A filigree design uses lacelike ornamental openwork made up of intertwined wire threads of gold or silver. This is widely used in ancient jewelry.
Kendra has revived this ancient craft and applied it to her rings, earring, cuffs, and gemstone settings—with superb effect.
Is Kendra Scott Jewelry made of real gold, like this cuff? No, if what is meant by “real gold” is pure gold. Pure gold is too soft for jewelry use. But yes, if what is meant is the plating of this cuff. Kendra Scott uses brass as base metal, then plates it with 14K gold.
Hammered finish
Kendra came up with the hammered finish to appeal to people who are still trying to hold on to their youth or are nostalgic about the days of the hippies’ fashion.
To achieve this hammered look, the company came up with a technique to create jewelry pieces that are textual and innovative and, at the same time, oozing with elegance.
Why is Kendra Scott Jewelry so Popular?
It is synonymous with stylish and affordable products
The products are made with natural materials, such as shells, gemstones, and pearls. Oftentimes, it also uses lab-lab gemstones as well as glass.
All these are fashioned into stylish and innovative products that are within reach of most of her buying public.
Something for every season
Kendra Scott Jewelry keeps its ears to the ground to provide it with a viable business direction—regardless of the season. So it designs innovative and creative jewelry such as multi-strand necklaces, geometric pieces, chains, bracelets, etc., that are appropriate for all seasons.
Natural materials and precious metals
Most of Kendra Scott’s metal jewelry items are 14K gold-plated brass. The more expensive items are made of gold, sterling silver, and gold vermeil.
Similarly, the stones are of high quality with investing in as they are built to last long.
Provides customization option
Kendra Scott Jewelry allows customers like you to customize your item be it a ring, necklace, bracelet, or pair of earrings.
Customization covers metals and gemstones used and styles. It even allows engraving, where possible. This personalization 0ption (like the design in this Myka review) allows your jewelry item to express your personality.
A go-to brand for fashionistas and influencers
Style influencers, like Selena Gomez and Hilary Duff, as well as fashion lovers, love the brand because of its versatile and varied collections and availability of statement pieces that go well with current trends.
Has a noble purpose
Some of the company’s profits are set aside for community work to unlock opportunities, enhance knowledge, and improve lives.
High-quality metals
Kendra Scott’s metal uses brass as base metal and then plated with 14K gold in its fine jewelry line. Of course, you have the option of what kind of plating you would like to have for your jewelry item i.e., white, rose, and yellow gold.
It also offers high-quality gold vermeil and sterling silver pieces at very affordable prices. Plating of gunmetal (an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc) or rhodium are also available to give your jewelry item a dark and moody option.
Lately, Kendra Scott has started offering jewelry plated with bright silver—a mixture of copper, rhodium, and silver. This alloy gives a lighter appearance than conventional silver.
High-quality gemstones
The company uses various gemstones of premium quality such as amethyst, turquoise, cat’s eye, lapis lazuli, moonstone, obsidian, and chalcedony. Some of its items include baroque and cultured pearls, abalone shells, and mother-of-pearl.
In high-valued items, Kenra incorporates both black and colorless diamonds in its jewelry.
Kendra’s years of experience making jewelry have imbued in her a certain creativity not common in her niche. One example is her use of druzy quartz (multi-colored, rose, gold, black, iridescent, and platinum) in her jewelry items, making them visually appealing.
What age group wears Kendra Scott Jewelry
As Kendra has a jewelry line for all seasons, she also has creations that cover a wide age range. These are girls who are 18 years old and above, mothers, and grandmothers.
Kendra Scott Jewelry is a pure-American jewelry company known for its creative and innovative line of jewelry items that is appropriate for any occasion—be it formal, informal, or just hanging out with friends. And they are all affordable, For example, the iconic Kendra Scott necklace seldom goes beyond $55.
Now, if you’re interested in other jewelry designers, check out our article, “Jaclyn Roxanne Jewelry: What’s Hot And Hotter With This Brand.”
