Laura Whayne and Stef Perry showed up for an interview prepared to
talk about their business. They wore necklaces. Whayne's looked like an ocean
of sparkling blue and green stones while Perry's resembled pale yellow
leaves and red berries.
They'd come to the Carolina Café in Meadowmont Chapel Hill, NC on Tuesday to
tout Z Designs, a line of gemstone jewelry that includes the necklaces they wore.
Whayne, 33, owns the business and creates the designs. Perry, 37, markets the line.
The "Z" stands for Zimmerman, Whayne's maiden name.
Less than a year after teaming up, the two Chapel Hill women have
managed to have their own jewelry case in one of the top stores for
jewelry -- Saks.
Just two weeks ago, a Saks store in Palm Beach started carrying Z Designs. Earlier
in February, a Saks in Richmond, Va., began selling the line after a store manager
noticed a necklace Perry had worn while shopping there.
Her choice of fashion accessory had not exactly been a coincidence,
Perry confessed on Tuesday.
Having the jewelry in a Saks store means a lot in terms of prestige and
exposure, the women said.
"It's a compliment to Laura's talent," Perry added.
Currently, six stores carry the jewelry, among them Fine Feathers in
Chapel Hill.
The two women began working together in April after being part of the
same circle of friends.
"I liked Laura as a person and I just thought she had a talent. Her jewelry
was something I loved, so I think it was easy to sell it," Perry said.
he business benefits from the experience both bring to it.
Perry has worked in banking and also as a buyer for retail, high-end designer
clothes. She also has a real-estate license.
Both majored in psychology -- Whayne at Guilford College and Perry at Campbell University.
Whayne also majored in sociology and spent her junior year in Australia, where she made a
point of going to see the opal mines.
Whayne said she's been interested in gems and jewelry ever since she can remember.
Her childhood memories include breaking rocks apart to look for gems and gravitating to jewelry
counters whenever she went shopping with her grandmother. She made hemp necklaces
for her swim team in the second grade and has been making jewelry ever since.
Encouragement from friends and family who bought her jewelry prompted Whayne
to launch her business last year. She already had been to a few trade shows on her
own, but after she and Perry began working together, things started moving quickly.
"Our goals are to expand," Perry said.
"But a rate we can handle," Whayne added.
Whayne now has two people who help her string the jewelry she designs, and
she would like to add more salespeople eventually. "We want to always be able to
grow at a rate that the quality stays the same," Whayne said. "I don't want to
be mass-market at this point." With Perry marketing the jewelry, Whayne can
spend more time making it to fill the orders that come in.
Her necklaces retail from $180 to $600.
"I'm inspired by the gems. I've got gems draping down on the walls so it's
constant sparkles, colors, surrounding me in my studio where I work," Whayne said.
She used pineapple quartz, cherry quartz and tiny, clear crystals in the
ecklace Perry wore on Tuesday. Whayne's three-strand necklace included freshwater
pearls, jade, blue topaz and quartz in olive and sea-foam green.
Whayne names all her designs and called the necklace she wore "Blue Waters"
but had not yet decided on a name for the new design Perry wore. Whayne calls
another necklace made of smoky topaz and a Peruvian opal "The Natalie," after
a friend. She chose the name "Lewlew Blue" because the color matches the
crystal-clear, blue eyes of Lewlew, her 2-year-old daughter. She and
husband, Jim, also have a 7-year-old son, Hayden.
Perry and her husband, John, have three children: 3-year-old twins
Jack and Mason, and an 8-year-old daughter, Bailey.
On Tuesday, Perry said she had been up since 4:45 a.m.
So, how do the two women juggle their business and motherhood?
"I'm a little more driven than most. I've also been running half-marathons," Perry said.
"We're both very driven people. We come from families of hard workers," Whayne said.
Whayne's brother, Mark Zimmerman, is the former owner of Great Harvest Bread Co.
Another brother, Scott, an attorney, and her mother, Lynne Zimmerman, a Realtor, work in Chapel Hill.
Z Designs also serves as an outlet from everyday stress, Perry added.
The women also possess another quality that helps them at home and in business.
"Luckily, we're both not afraid of change and actually thrive on it," Whayne said.
Whayne and Perry said would-be women entrepreneurs should start businesses
they feel passionate about, and be prepared to learn from mistakes.
It also helps to be in sync with your business partner.
"We make time for ourselves and each other. We go for a run. We really care about
what makes each other happy outside our business," Whayne said. "We check in with
each other. We're constant support for each other for everything, not just business."
Source: © 2004, The Herald Sun. http://www.herald-sun.com/
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