Kendra Scott was destined to be an entrepreneur from childhood, raised with both parents running their own small ventures, through helping them she learned strong business ethics and practices, which became second nature. Today she is the founder, executive chairwoman and chief creative officer of her own brand.
To learn that she began her current business when she had a 3-month-old baby shouldn’t really come as a surprise, her jewelry designs were a component of a previous venture and eventually became the main focal point. “I was designing and making throughout my pregnancy but was reluctant to launch as a business, I would go from store to store with the baby in tow, and take orders for my designs, it just really took off from there” she explains.
Now the mother of 3 boys, I asked if any of them were following in her footsteps. “Oh my gosh, 100%, they’ve grown up with the business since they were just babies, I had their pack-n-play in my office, so they’ve been really engaged. Over the pandemic, they started designing a men’s collection, Scott Bros, which we just launched. It’s really cool because now they’re the next generation designing something. I didn’t really design men’s jewelry because I didn’t know what men wanted, but now my little babies have grown into that. They are studying business at school at UT, and have dreams to start their own companies, it’s in their DNA”.
Kendra Scotts Austin ranch is her family home, residence and retreat, where she lives surrounded by the Texas landscape and wildlife. When I asked if nature has a big influence on her designs, she told me - “I can think clearly, when I am around our animals, sometimes when I go horseback riding, my husband and I will take a picnic to have while we’re out. My mind can get cleared and I can think about designs, sometimes I keep a sketchbook in my saddlebag, and I sketch when I’m there. So, nature has always influenced me, going for a hike, or a walk. -There are butterflies in this collection, I am so inspired by nature and the best place to do that is in the countryside. We just launched “Yellow Rose” by Kendra Scott, which is all about my ranch and a Texas lifestyle.”
The earliest Kendra Scott Designs, which paved the way to today’s empire, were simple friendship bracelets she made as a child, and were woven from colorful threads embellished with charms.
There are now 115 stores to date across the USA, with two “Sip and Sweets Cafes”,
The Woodlands boasts one located in Market Street, the other is in Austin.
Not only is Scott an astute businesswoman who was recently a guest on the business investment TV show Shark Tank, but she is also an inexhaustible philanthropist supporting countless organizations and charities worldwide. The Kendra Scott Foundation supports literacy in education, placing “Little Yellow Libraries” in schools as well as providing grants and scholarships for students. The Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute at The University of Texas at Austin offers courses, events and programs whilst building a strong community of future female leaders. Kendra Scott is herself a Professor of Practice at UT’s College of Fine Arts and a truly magnificent role model setting a wonderful example of shining bright and doing good.
www.kendrascott.com
