Frisco mom Catherine Page designs and dazzles

by Sarah Hall

FRISCO — Catherine Page has been pouring creative energy into designing jewelry ever since she bought the olivewood strands from Israel that inspired her to start a jewelry line in the ‘70s. Now a wife, mother of four, and caretaker of a huge dog and a tiny raccoon (uncaged!), this Frisco resident continues to create the stylish irony she calls her own.

While each collection varies greatly in style, each piece is assuredly unique. All her chains are vintage Chanel metals bought from a retired Chanel warehouse in New York – a stumbled-upon good find. She then plates them with gold or silver, later piecing them together herself. She’ll take vintage clip earrings, for instance, and make them into fun baubles on necklaces. And she only uses real Chanel – no knock-offs.

Her fun-loving jewelry also incorporates '70s era belt buckles, gemstones from Australia and North Africa, handcrafts from Tibet, and silk from Persia. And of course, she uses the olivewood from Israel, her initial inspiration.

Ever since her childhood days in a small Texas town, Page always found a way to express her love of the arts through macramé, painted rocks, and papier-mâché crafts. Now with a medieval art history degree from Baylor, Page delights in naming her collections after art history terminology.

“Jewelry gives me a place to put things mentally,” Page said. “When I design jewelry, it feels like some part of me that has been crouched down and waiting has risen and now stands stretching and strong.”

Page also credits her ideas to everyday realities familiar to most moms, like tight budgets and a commitment to discipline.

Her latest jewelry can be found at Susseys in Frisco as well as Elements on Lovers, most for about $200. Her items can’t be bought online or from her home, but she hopes to have a stronger presence in the Dallas area by working with an agent in Dallas as well as Los Angeles. “I like to be able to work personally with the stores my jewelry goes to,” she said.