LOCAL JEWELRY DESIGNER TAKES SAC BY STORM!

KKPW: A NAME TO REMEMBER.

OWNER AND DESIGNER, SHANNON CULMO

Certain to leave no stone unturned, every new member we meet within this incredibly talented Sacramento fashion community, there seems to be another waiting in the wings with an equally wonderful talent. Shannon Culmo is one of these gems (no pun intended).

Creator and owner of KKPW (Knick Knack Patty Wack) Jewelry Designs, Shannon and I met at L Urban Wine Lounge and Kitchen for a glass of wine and an introduction. The conversation was fluid and easy and drifted rather organically into a conversation of congruent missions both from a fashion perspective and from a business perspective. Sacramento, by all intensive purposes, is still a small town. That being said, there are many people here who desire to build upon the fashion core that already exists within the confines of our small town. Many of these people remain hidden, successful in many ways and certainly visible even in other cities and to a select few within our own. For whatever reason, however, many have yet to be "discovered" or given the proper acknowledgement for their unbelievably beautiful work.

KKPW DESIGNS ABOVE AND BELOW  

Shannon Culmo sells her jewelry in many stores here in Sacramento like Serendipity, Madam Butterfly,  and Parkside Pharmacy, to name a few, and is known for her whimsical collection of natural baubles. Beautiful metals hammered to perfection, semi-precious and precious stones linked with copper and wire all finished with soft details that Shannon finishes with her very own fingertips. This line is homespun. Literally. And it is gorgeous. She sat at our meeting flanked in bangles, some in silver, others in gold. She must have been wearing ten of them. I liked her necklaces, too. Dainty and feminine, but strong and certainly full of meaning, her jewelry is the perfect blend of haute hippie and sophisticated, urban goddess.

KKPW DESIGNS

Shannon said to me, "I like jewelry that doesn't necessarily belong together. That's what makes jewelry interesting. Jewelry is an expression of one's self. It is a way to tell a story about who you are and how you feel." C'est tres vrai, Mademoiselle.

KKPW DESIGNS ABOVE AND BELOW

Mixing a fine gold lariat with a chunky tourmaline and sapphire beaded choker, for example, or perhaps one of Shannon's beloved leather cuffs (people have been known to buy them literally off of her wrist) accompanied with her thinly hammered silver bangles, could surely fill this bill.

KKPW BANGLES

Don't take my word for it, however. Check her stuff out for yourself. You've probably seen it already in passing through the many shops here in town, but now you'll know a bit more of Shannon's story and get that personal touch that we all long for when we buy local. Shannon is drawing a big picture for herself and one that just might need a bigger canvas.

- sister