If you're too old to become a rodeo queen, design jewelry for one! That was my thinking when I approached Kayla, the reigning Miss Rodeo Montana 2019.
Kayla is the first Kalispell rodeo queen in a lot of years, more than anyone cares to count. So, the whole community rallied around her to support her quest in the Miss Rodeo America pageant. There were fundraising galas, big company donations and sponsorships, but what could a small, independent jewelry designer do to help support the local rodeo queen? To find out, I went directly to Kayla.
Thankfully, most rodeo queens are personable and friendly gals, and Kayla is no exception. So, we chatted on the phone about her goals as Miss Rodeo Montana, what she wanted to accomplish during her reign, and how my values as a designer tied into her goals and values. In the conversation, it came out that Kayla was missing a pair of earrings to go with a very special dress she was planning to wear on one of Miss Rodeo America pageant nights, a perfect way for a jewelry designer to be of help.
Now, Kayla's dress is drop-dead gorgeous on its own, and it was a major challenge trying to design something equally as rich that wouldn't compete with the dress. Rich red, long leather fringe, oodles of turquoise inlay, especially around the neckline, oh my! I was swooning just looking at that dress. So, I got down to work, proposing a bunch of different designs in Kingman turquoise and sterling silver: French wire, lever back, hoop, post... Fringe, earrings must have fringe no matter what, but how do we get them rendered in turquoise? They need to have movement, but we want them to be easy on the ears, too.
After a few more conversations, we narrowed the choice down to a post earring style, and now the fun of making begins. Keep an eye on my blog, as I will be sharing the finished design here after it's been delivered to Kayla. In the meantime, go learn more about Miss Rodeo Montana here, or get yourself some fringed earrings of your own in Buckaroo Bling online shop.
