BLACK EYED PEARLS

As someone who studied fine art and ceramics in college, there’s an artistry in cooking that former pastry chef Kathyrn King connected to. She grew up in Southern kitchens, watching her mother and grandmother, filling her senses with the sights, sounds and smells and feeling all of it under her fingertips. It drew her in and captivated her—and then, it became her career.

But fate drew her back to her love of visual arts through jewelry making and metalsmithing. Over the past decade, she has been creating her own one-ofa-kind pieces using sterling silver and semi-precious stones. As the craftswoman behind two lines, Black Crow Metal Work and Black Eyed Pearls, she explores two sides of the same artistic coin—but it is through Black Eyed Pearls that she celebrates the heritage of the South.

“Black Eyed Pearls was started in July of 2022 with the ’seed’ of an idea to make a line using beloved Southern produce—a unique and whimsical take on vegetables,” says King. “Black eyed peas and okra have a long tradition in the South. Throughout my pastry career, I have been a supporter of locally grown produce and continue to rely on local growers for my jewelry’s ingredients, as well.”

To achieve the realism captured in her necklaces, King first dries the vegetables. Next they are cast in sterling silver using the “lost wax” method of pouring molten metal into a wax mold. Finally, each component is strung or soldered onto sterling chains before the clasps are added. Having risen to the heights that she did as the critically acclaimed pastry chef at Atlanta’s iconic Aria restaurant, for King, the art of creating beauty with her hands is a particular point of pride. And now, she makes those beautiful things in a way that last and can be handed down. “Handmade objects are imbued with the heart and soul of the maker,” she says. “Mass-production seems faceless—there typically isn’t a real connection to a person, to their heart and mind, or between the maker and the wearer.” King plans to add earrings, bracelets, charms, and other products “as the ideas come to me or as clients suggest their own ideas. I love the natural world and have some other thoughts on jewelry made from natural materials, too,” she notes. Her pieces can be found online at blackeyedpearls.com

Written by Liesel Schmidt