Meet Austin’s Certified Pearl Specialist & Designer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Harris.

Hi Matt, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
A long time ago when I was getting married we decided to buy pearls for our bridesmaid’s gifts. Being the adventurous type, I volunteered to do the shopping and pick them out. But I knew absolutely nothing about pearls! I had so many questions such as:

· How would I keep from getting ripped off?

· Why does one pearl cost $5 and another $500?

· How can I tell a real pearl from a fake pearl?

· What is a pearl anyways? Do divers really dive down in the ocean and pull up oysters? And if so, wouldn’t we find them at the restaurants?

The salespeople at stores were not much of a help. I bought some necklaces anyway, not having any clue, but these questions stayed with me for a few years until one night 3-4 years later. It was Valentine’s Day. I was stuck in traffic in Los Angeles and to pass the time, I made a list of 14 things I have always wanted to learn about. #1 was pearls. My plan was to start at the top and work my way down.

So I did! I learned. I read. I visited jewelry trade shows and talked with pearl farmers and dealers. I bought THOUSANDS of pearls! I even learned the art of stringing pearls and began to make my own jewelry. Within months Debra Messing was wearing my jewelry on Will and Grace, Britney Spears reached out about making a set for her, people I never even heard of were wearing my jewelry on the red carpet. Magazines were mentioning my designs, interviewing me and stores across the country started carrying my line.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My biggest challenge was not planning on success. I was just knocking down my list! At the same time all this was happening I was also raising money for a software startup that would help people study for exams online. I raised multiple rounds of private investment and then, when I was successful at raising venture capital, I realized that the only way I could be a good steward of my investors’ money was to focus 110% on my startup and shut down the pearls. For almost 20 years I ran the company I started and only recently did I find my way out.

However, for that entire 20 years, my passion for pearls never waned. I continued to visit trade shows, establish friendships with people in the industry and learn as much as I could. I even made a few pieces here and there, mostly for clients who had bought from me already and kept asking for more.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Now I am totally free to do what I want with the rest of my life and it’s incredibly empowering! I have chosen to focus on helping both women AND men learn about and understand pearls so that they can make better buying decisions, evaluate what they may already have in their dressers and so that they can join me in changing the way people view pearls… by seeing them as daily, not just dressy.

I’ve realized that I can help people:

· Determine real pearls from fakes

· Understand what makes one pearl valuable and another not

· Realize the difference between a “natural” pearl and a “cultured” pearl

· Become enchanted with the history of pearls

· Dispel the myths… such as a pearl being created by a piece of sand entering an oyster. It’s not true!

The history of pearls is particularly fascinating to me and I hope to share the knowledge I have gained. Did you know that throughout history, in some countries, pearls have been illegal to wear unless you are a Royal? Cartier purchased a luxury 5th Avenue apartment in Manhattan in 1917 by trading a pearl necklace. Perhaps the most interesting historical reference is that Queen Isabella of Spain, when funding Columbus on his journey, gave him a list of 5 treasures she insisted he bring back for her. #1 was pearls!

I am also excited that I have a physical location now where I can meet people and talk about pearls! Last January I took over leadership of a fantastic consignment jewelry store here in Austin, Texas called “Curated” (formerly Design With Consignment) where not only do I carry my pearl designs, but thousands of other pieces of jewelry too.

I am now a Certified Pearl Specialist via the Cultured Pearl Association of America and I will complete the Graduate Pearl program at the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) in April. I am also writing a book about pearls and their powerful presence throughout history.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’ll never forget “Cynthia” in the basement of a tall building in Los Angeles who thought it was the cutest thing that I wanted to learn how to string pearls and took the time to teach me. “Kim” who was the costume designer for Will and Grace introduced me to Debra Messing and they both were so instrumental in getting my designs out there. I’m most thankful, though, for everyone who has spent their hard-earned money to buy one of my designs. Every order still floors me and humbles me. I remember once driving up to a trunk show in Kentucky and seeing people waiting in line before the store opens, most already wearing my jewelry! It’s an indescribable feeling and it powers you up to keep going. I am so excited to be back, because while software was good to me, this is where my heart is.

Contact Info:

• Email: matt@mattharrisdesigns.com
• Website: www.mattharrisdesigns.com
• Instagram: @mattharrisdesigns
• Facebook: facebook.com/pearlsaresexy
• Instagram: @curated_tx_jewelry
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lepin/