We recently connected with Kimberly McDonald and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kimberly , thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
I hope that my legacy will be an absolute reverence and love for nature. This planet that we live on is so magnificent and the things that are created over the ages within the earth such as agates, geodes, opals….These things are works of art. As advanced as we think we are as a civilization we cannot duplicate what nature has done. I think when you step back and realize this you can’t help but want to take care of the earth. You can’t abide by blatant disrespect and mistreatment of the earth. You’ become conscious on another level. A deeper level. You realize that life is amazing. And precious. And you become protective of it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I always loved rocks. I always felt a connection to them and I always got excited by them. How cool that these little works of art have been formed by nature over millions of years and hidden in plain sight. So it was a very natural process for me to create with stones such as geodes, agates, quartz, opals, and other stones. I love the fact that unlike diamonds, which are plentiful, stones I work with are more rare. Some of the materials are even “mines out” meaning their source has been depleted. I think it’s important to give these stones a place if import. They carry with them the natural core earth energy which is what they came from. You can learn more about how I began my business at kimberlymcdonald.com
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a designer is having creative freedom. Because I work with unusual materials I derive great pleasure from observing peoples reactions to my work. A lot of times I work with stones that people haven’t ever seen or heard of. It’s exciting to see them discover new stones or to see stones set an away that is different or more thought-provoking than just the average jewelry. I absolutely love client feedback. I have a client in Texas who regularly says there are only two types of jewelry. Cartier and Kimberly McDonald. I love it. I have another client who has a truly amazing collection of very high end find jewelry and yet she called to tell me years ago that her husband told her his favorite piece of jewelry other than her wedding ring is her Kimberly McDonald black geode earrings with irregular different color diamonds. It’s just very rewarding and gratifying when what I am creating connects with a client in a way that it becomes special to them.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I began my career in find jewelry as a curator. This means that I worked with private individuals to help them assemble and acquire pieces that would not only be wearable but also that would be good investments and create a collection that would tell a story about their life and their taste at different points during their life. are used to work with several very well-known designers in this process. I would secure a project with a client and come up with a concept. I would typically secure the main stones as well. I would then collaborate with known designers so that my clients would receive the best value for their money; having an important designer signature on a piece. In general I was more and more designing the pieces myself and found that one designer in particular kept Appropriating my ideas into his collection. Frustrated, I turned to my best friend who encouraged me to start my own collection.
I began setting aside money from each sale I made with my private clients in order to make a few small pieces. After a while I had probably 12 to 15 pieces. I remember having an interview with woman’s where DaiLY and a couple of weeks later I received a phone call from the Jewelry buyer a Bergdorf Goodman. After that meeting it was official… I had my first retail partner. I managed to sell fund my first couple of stores. The original 4510 in Dallas, Browns in London, and Jamie‘s in Nashville.
However, after a great meeting with Neiman Marcus in those early days my best friend said to me… If you’re going to provide jewelry for this many stores you’re going to need an investor. Luckily she is the CFO of a small family fund, so she knows finance very well. She was in the process of helping me write a business plan to show a potential investor when the owner of her fund asked… Hey what are you working on? She told him and he responded why don’t we just invest in her? He and I had met and he also knew I had a very good reputation as a curator. And that was how I secured the funds to supply multiple stores with my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kimberlymcdonald.com
- Instagram: @kimberlymcdonaldjewelry
- Twitter: @KMD_jewelry