Biochemist Turned At-Home Mom To Business Owner
Carol Barrett was a Stanford University research biochemist taking time out of the workforce to raise three daughters when she found herself going through a divorce.
An at-home mom for years, she was in need of a steady income to pay the bills. Unable to dive back into breast cancer research after being away so long, the single mom became a commercial real estate manager.
Through those tumultuous years of working and raising her children, one of Barrett’s great pleasures was her hobby of designing pendants with the carved jade, mined ivory and beads she bought while on a trip to China in 1989.
“I’m a long-distance runner, and a group of us went to China to run,” says Barrett, now 66. “Going through markets, I would have to stop and look at these beautiful carved pieces of jade and ivory that were for sale.”
She bought some of them, along with semiprecious beads of carnelian, turquoise, quartz, lapis and other stones and started stringing them together once she got home, using one of the large, carved pieces as the centerpiece of the pendants.
Barrett, who lives in San Carlos, was “discovered” when a buyer stopped her on the way out of the I. Magnin ladies room and asked about the unusual piece she was wearing.
It was the compliment and the impetus Barrett needed to start a jewelry company. With a partner, she launched Gemini jewelry company and got to work on a collection.
Almost 20 years later, she’s on her own now and offering handcrafted necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings and brooches in local boutiques and Saks Fifth Avenue stores, including the San Francisco location. The pieces are also available on her Web site.
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