There are a lot of people who make jewelry. Nannie Pearl is a bead of a different color. The Lafayette-based business with Julie Bowie at the helm covers, quite colorfully, the gamut of goodies — all glam, all girly and all at once eclectic.
“I’ve been making jewelry since I was in high school, and I sold it to my teachers and it just kept going,” says the 29-year-old UL interior design grad.
In college Bowie started baking, and Nannie Pearl (named for her grandmother who owned a restaurant in Mississippi years ago) was formed selling both beautiful eats and unique jewelry.
In February the business had grown to a point that meant either leaving her full-time job at Dunn’s Designs or scaling back. She took the plunge. Her sales include all manner of jewelry (even boot jewelry to add a fresh look to boots), cupcakes and pallet signs. Bowie sells online at nanniepearl.publishpath.com as well as via Facebook, Instagram and through her Etsy shop.
Her look is unmistakable whether she’s baking or designing a necklace. It’s glam without the gaudy. It’s eclectic without the granola. It’s sparkling and full of class. Even her cupcakes often shimmer.
She knows that the details make the design, and she’s fearless in mixing unexpected elements. In jewelry that unexpected mix may come in funky beads and refined tassels or an unusual color combo. In cupcakes the unique mix might be a French toast creation with bacon and bourbon or a local soda-inspired recipe using Swamp Pop’s pecan praline drink.
