ONE OF CANADA’S HOTTEST JEWELRY DESIGNERS CALLS OTTAWA HOME
Karen McClintock has a unique way of seeing the world. A beach scene conjures up blue quartz, mother of pearl and larimar semiprecious stones. When she studies a sepia-toned photograph,she sees moss opal, abalone and fresh water pearls.
Written By Nadine St-Jacques
Photography by Darren Brown
For Karen, these stones are the tools of her trade. The energetic blonde surrounds herself with tray after tray of gems in every colour of the rainbow as she crafts dazzling jewelry designs in her second floor workspace. Known as one of Canada’s hottest up-and coming jewelry designers, the Ottawa native’s blossoming career is going places she never expected. Her necklaces, earrings and bracelets can be found exclusively in the capital region at Shepherd’s and Holt Renfrew. Sitting at her glass kitchen table in her Greely home, the ever-stylish blonde – who, of course, is wearing one of her signature pieces made of semi-precious stones and an ancient silver coin – says she still can’t believe the meteoric rise of her career. Surprisingly enough, it all began after
a quick trip to her local Wal-Mart less than two years ago. With her stepdaughter in tow, she went to the discount department store to find materials to re-string a few necklaces
for a garage sale. A few days later, Karen showed her creations to a friend with experience in the jewelry business. Although the friend kidded her about using stretchy string instead of wire, she was impressed by McClintock’s natural talent for pulling colours together and encouraged her to pursue her new hobby. At the time, something deep inside Karen started to simmer. Could jewelry designing be exactly what she needed to complement her busy lifestyle?
A divorced mother of two, she married Jim McClintock, a businessman and champion
water-skier in 2003. Between them, they have four kids ages 11, 13, 14 and 15, which also means a complicated living arrangement. Karen’s two kids go to school in Ottawa, while Jim’s children and business are in Cambridge.As a result, Karen regularly commutes between the couple’s two homes, as well as their vacation home in Florida. This arrangement also means holding a 9-to-5 job is virtually impossible. “I’m only in the city every second week and we travel every week, so I was kind of feeling like, what am I going to do?” says the former athlete with a master’s degree in sports psychology. “I can’t just clean house and shop because that’s not me.” Consequently, McClintock made up her mind and decided she would try her hand at jewelry designing. The result was an instant following. “I sold my first piece in a week right off my neck at a water-ski tournament,” says Karen with a laugh. From that moment on, the Ottawa native’s
career as a designer took off. She attributes her success to her “take the bulls by the horn” approach to life and a conscious decision to aim high. In August 2005, only two months after making her first piece, she picked up the phone and called Marlene Shepherd, owner of Shepherd’s, a high-end clothing store in the Rideau Centre, and asked if she could bring in a few of her designs. Inspired by nature scenes and colour combinations in pictures and photographs, Karen creates hand-crafted necklaces, bracelets and earrings made of carefully selected semi-precious stones and Swarovski crystals. Karen’s signature trademark is her use of chunky stones, as well as antique silver coins that her Toronto Queen Street supplier finds for her in
exotic locales.
Marlene says she knew Karen’s jewelry was what they were looking for. “I could see that she really had a talent for pulling together beautiful colour combinations,” she says.“I knew right away there was somebody that I thought had talent.” From then on, Marlene took the new designer under her wing – support Karen is extremely grateful to have. “She was wonderful because she gave me an opportunity. She’s definitely been my mentor,” she says. It is obvious that in Karen’s short career as a designer, her tenaciousness and positive attitude have paid off.Today, her pieces are also sold at six
of Holt Renfrew’s 12 locations across Canada. And for good reason – they are beautiful, versatile and customers can’t seem to get enough of them. “Jewelry is an emotional purchase and from my experience, I knew women would feel drawn to her pieces,” says Elena Lowenthal, associate buyer for fashion jewelry at Holt Renfrew. “Karen’s work has the potential to evolve and stay fresh with every season, which is what will keep our customers coming back for new additions to their collections.” Michelle Valberg, a good friend of Karen’s and well-known Ottawa photographer, says she believes the secret to Karen’s success is her ability to stay focused. “She works from her intuition
and creativity,” says Michelle. “She didn’t follow a lot of the baby steps that I think people get lost and caught up in.” Karen attributes the level of success she’s acquired in such a short time span to her varied background. For six years, she was the technical
director of Water Ski Canada before turning around a failing consignment shop called Déjà New in Orléans. Although many would say her life has changed drastically since then, it’s obvious her first priority is always her family. “I think she could take it to greater heights than she is now,” says Marlene. “I’ve told her she could easily go to Bergdorf Goodman, but I don’t think that’s what she wants right now. I think she’s keeping it at a certain level, to balance out her lifestyle.” Karen, who still drives her kids to school in
Blackburn Hamlet and karate classes in Orléans each day, explains she’s content with
her life at the moment. Although she admits her goal is to sell her pieces at all 12 Holt
Renfrew locations, she’s ecstatic and humbled by her achievements. For now, she’s simply taking it one day at a time. ‘This whole business has been this unbelievable
karma,” says Karen with a gleam in her eyes. “I’ve gone from walking into Wal-
Mart not knowing what I’m doing to actually walking through the door of Holt Renfrew. I
hadn’t even been doing it a year and they take me on, they launch me as this successful Canadian designer. I still can’t even believe people actually call me that.”
For more information about Karen’s
designs, go to www.KarenMcClintock.com
For Karen, these stones are the tools of her trade. The energetic blonde surrounds herself with tray after tray of gems in every colour of the rainbow as she crafts dazzling jewelry designs in her second floor workspace. Known as one of Canada’s hottest up-and coming jewelry designers, the Ottawa native’s blossoming career is going places she never expected. Her necklaces, earrings and bracelets can be found exclusively in the capital region at Shepherd’s and Holt Renfrew. Sitting at her glass kitchen table in her Greely home, the ever-stylish blonde – who, of course, is wearing one of her signature pieces made of semi-precious stones and an ancient silver coin – says she still can’t believe the meteoric rise of her career. Surprisingly enough, it all began after
a quick trip to her local Wal-Mart less than two years ago. With her stepdaughter in tow, she went to the discount department store to find materials to re-string a few necklaces
for a garage sale. A few days later, Karen showed her creations to a friend with experience in the jewelry business. Although the friend kidded her about using stretchy string instead of wire, she was impressed by McClintock’s natural talent for pulling colours together and encouraged her to pursue her new hobby. At the time, something deep inside Karen started to simmer. Could jewelry designing be exactly what she needed to complement her busy lifestyle?
A divorced mother of two, she married Jim McClintock, a businessman and champion
water-skier in 2003. Between them, they have four kids ages 11, 13, 14 and 15, which also means a complicated living arrangement. Karen’s two kids go to school in Ottawa, while Jim’s children and business are in Cambridge.As a result, Karen regularly commutes between the couple’s two homes, as well as their vacation home in Florida. This arrangement also means holding a 9-to-5 job is virtually impossible. “I’m only in the city every second week and we travel every week, so I was kind of feeling like, what am I going to do?” says the former athlete with a master’s degree in sports psychology. “I can’t just clean house and shop because that’s not me.” Consequently, McClintock made up her mind and decided she would try her hand at jewelry designing. The result was an instant following. “I sold my first piece in a week right off my neck at a water-ski tournament,” says Karen with a laugh. From that moment on, the Ottawa native’s
career as a designer took off. She attributes her success to her “take the bulls by the horn” approach to life and a conscious decision to aim high. In August 2005, only two months after making her first piece, she picked up the phone and called Marlene Shepherd, owner of Shepherd’s, a high-end clothing store in the Rideau Centre, and asked if she could bring in a few of her designs. Inspired by nature scenes and colour combinations in pictures and photographs, Karen creates hand-crafted necklaces, bracelets and earrings made of carefully selected semi-precious stones and Swarovski crystals. Karen’s signature trademark is her use of chunky stones, as well as antique silver coins that her Toronto Queen Street supplier finds for her in
exotic locales.
Marlene says she knew Karen’s jewelry was what they were looking for. “I could see that she really had a talent for pulling together beautiful colour combinations,” she says.“I knew right away there was somebody that I thought had talent.” From then on, Marlene took the new designer under her wing – support Karen is extremely grateful to have. “She was wonderful because she gave me an opportunity. She’s definitely been my mentor,” she says. It is obvious that in Karen’s short career as a designer, her tenaciousness and positive attitude have paid off.Today, her pieces are also sold at six
of Holt Renfrew’s 12 locations across Canada. And for good reason – they are beautiful, versatile and customers can’t seem to get enough of them. “Jewelry is an emotional purchase and from my experience, I knew women would feel drawn to her pieces,” says Elena Lowenthal, associate buyer for fashion jewelry at Holt Renfrew. “Karen’s work has the potential to evolve and stay fresh with every season, which is what will keep our customers coming back for new additions to their collections.” Michelle Valberg, a good friend of Karen’s and well-known Ottawa photographer, says she believes the secret to Karen’s success is her ability to stay focused. “She works from her intuition
and creativity,” says Michelle. “She didn’t follow a lot of the baby steps that I think people get lost and caught up in.” Karen attributes the level of success she’s acquired in such a short time span to her varied background. For six years, she was the technical
director of Water Ski Canada before turning around a failing consignment shop called Déjà New in Orléans. Although many would say her life has changed drastically since then, it’s obvious her first priority is always her family. “I think she could take it to greater heights than she is now,” says Marlene. “I’ve told her she could easily go to Bergdorf Goodman, but I don’t think that’s what she wants right now. I think she’s keeping it at a certain level, to balance out her lifestyle.” Karen, who still drives her kids to school in
Blackburn Hamlet and karate classes in Orléans each day, explains she’s content with
her life at the moment. Although she admits her goal is to sell her pieces at all 12 Holt
Renfrew locations, she’s ecstatic and humbled by her achievements. For now, she’s simply taking it one day at a time. ‘This whole business has been this unbelievable
karma,” says Karen with a gleam in her eyes. “I’ve gone from walking into Wal-
Mart not knowing what I’m doing to actually walking through the door of Holt Renfrew. I
hadn’t even been doing it a year and they take me on, they launch me as this successful Canadian designer. I still can’t even believe people actually call me that.”
For more information about Karen’s
designs, go to www.KarenMcClintock.com
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