Kathy and Allison Edwards

by Christi Marsico
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 2:49 PM MST

There are many ways a mother and daughter can bond or create traditions together.

Making jewelry is one way Kathy Edwards and her 9-year-old daughter Allison not only stay close, but also create unique, one of a kind art.

The Edwards family moved to Casper four years ago from Corpus Christi, Texas, for an engineering job to which Clyde, Kathy's husband, had been transferred.

About two years ago, the mother and daughter team started to create jewelry collectively. According to Allison, her mother is the main inspiration for her creations.

Allison, who is in the fourth grade, incorporates her favorite colors of orange, brown, blue and green into most of her designs.

"Ally will go and pick a strand of all the colors she likes, and she puts them together in a design and strings them,” Kathy said. “I usually do the clasps for her; I just start it and finish it.”

According to Allison, it takes her 15-30 minutes to make one necklace after she decides on her jewelry pattern.

The mother and daughter team incorporates real stones, such as turquoise, corral, gaspenite and citrine, to name a few, into their jewelry designs.

"I go to markets to get beads, and the beads come from around the world, like this African turquoise," Kathy said.

She owns the Cadillac Cowgirl, a retail shop located at 4280 S. Poplar in the Sunrise Shopping Center. She has much of her own jewelry, as well as her daughter's designs, on display.

Allison has her own logo, "Ally Cat Designs," which comes from the nickname her father gave her when she was a baby.

"Allison comes up with everything on her own and they are unique, and believe it or not, her jewelry sells faster than mine," Kathy noted.

They usually bead together in their home as they watch movies, and they like taking the beads with them when they travel.

According to Kathy, Allison beads with her for fun, while she beads to relax.

"That's my creative time when I can just not think about work and not worry about anything; I can just focus on being with my daughter," Kathy said.

The whole family, including big brother Austin, who is 11, has spent time beading together, and one of Austin's necklaces has sold at the store.

Allison doesn't see herself becoming a professional jeweler when she gets older, as she has aspirations to be a "baby doctor."

Looking ahead for her future, Kathy takes Allison's jewelry earnings and deposits them into a college fund.

Creating jewelry for Kathy comes from many inspirations, including magazines like Cowboys and Indians.

Kathy likes to incorporate popular color combinations into her designs.

"If orange and brown are what everybody wants to wear, then I'll make something that complements that," she said.

Along with keeping up with current trends, Kathy doesn't like to do the same thing twice, unless it's for a custom design order.

With a busy store among other endeavors, she looks forward to beading with her daughter.

"That's our girl time when we get to sit down together and talk," Kathy said.

One bead at a time, this mother and daughter find joy and friendship while sharing creative designs that are more than just pretty colors on a string.

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