Jewelry design is therapeutic for artist
It's been said designers create who they really are.
And, sometimes life's circumstances help them find their true calling.
Beauty came from one woman's loss, in the form of jewelry.
Tracy Tenpenny started designing jewelry six years ago, just after her mother passed away.
"I just started doing this and found that it was the one thing that I could just lose myself in," Tenpenny said. "It was very therapeutic for me."
Her background is interior design and that shows in the design of her jewelry.
"People have seen an architectural element to it -- definitely structural," she said.
It's structural with a certain soft sophistication.
"It's very feminine and I think very girlie," she said.
It's girlie but grownup.
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"High end fashion with an affordable price tag," Tenpenny said. "A lot of pieces, they're small, but you can layer them with other great pieces."
Great pieces like her single chalcedonies, which she's been selling since she got started.
She said they give a splash of color and retail for $40.
"I think blues work on the blondes, I think blues work on the brunette," Tenpenny said. "It's a beautiful stone, it looks very rich and when you put it with the 14K gold, it is I think brilliant."
Tenpenny names all of her pieces, which she says gives them personality.
She also has a collection called the "Connection Collection" that incorporates sterling silver with gold fill.
"It solves the dilemma of women saying they can't wear gold because their wedding ring is in silver or platinum," Tenpenny said.
It's easy for anyone to find beauty in Tenpenny's jewelry, but in each piece she sees something more.
"I like to think that when I look around and see my friends and family, mostly friends, who don't know who my mom was, I just tell them this is very much as extension of who she is and who she was," she said.
Tenpenny is a past winner of the Tribeza Designer Showcase.
Her jewelry is sold locally at Soigne' Boutique and Peyton Place.
She also sells her jewelry in Corpus Christi, Atlanta, Mississippi and San Antonio.