For something as deeply personal as creative expression, it’s amazing to see how it can sometimes flourish when freed from the vacuum of one person’s mind.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney did amazing things as solo artists, whether it’s the cautiously optimistic manifesto of Lennon’s “Imagine” or the unabashed romanticism of McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.” But few would argue that the work they did together as a songwriting team casts a shadow over everything they did apart.
The creative world is littered with collaborations like this, proving equal to or sometimes greater than the sum of their parts. Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat sharing a canvas with each putting their own perspective into their shared works. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak pairing technical and marketing genius to create an entirely new business model. David Spade’s scathing sarcasm tempering Chris Farley’s hyperactive bombast.
Clover & Palm’s Lissy Rawl and Kelly Caron
The point being, there is wisdom in the old saying, “Two heads are better than one.” When those two heads are able to come at a project from entirely different worlds, the unique give and take of their skills and perspectives can accomplish something neither would have been able to do alone.
In creating Clover and Palm, lauded designer Kelly Caron and jeweler Lissy Rawl of Little Fish Boateak have taken this saying to its ultimate expression. Each approaches this new venture with a clear area of expertise, a unique sense of style, and a deep well of respect for what the other brings to the table.
In creating Clover and Palm, lauded designer Kelly Caron and jeweler Lissy Rawl of Little Fish Boateak have taken this saying to its ultimate expression. Each approaches this new venture with a clear area of expertise, a unique sense of style, and a deep well of respect for what the other brings to the table.
“I told Kelly, you’re the glam and I’m the more casual everyday,” Rawl said. “We’ve come up with some pieces that I know are going to do really well, just because there are certain aspects I wouldn’t have thought about without her coming into the mix.”
While Rawl has been enjoying a strong and growing reputation for the handcrafted jewelry she has created with Little Fish Boateak, a line she launched following a career in design, Clover and Palm is an entirely different animal. Her own handcrafted pieces are each intricately crafted individual pieces, coaxed from gold, silver, pearls, and found fabrics into unique expressions of laid-back coastal beauty. With Clover and Palm, the upscale sophistication that Caron made famous lends opulence to Rawl’s designs, launching them into a different stratosphere.
It’s a market that Caron knows quite well. As principal of Kelly Caron Designs, she and her team have created an entire visual language that has come to define Lowcountry luxury. In homes and commercial projects, her keen eye for materiality and textures are often replicated, but never duplicated.
That “Kelly Caron look,” as so many have taken to calling it, is the template of the revived sense of beauty sweeping the Lowcountry. Presented in clean lines, spaces that breathe in the palette of the South, textures that evoke homespun hospitality, and upscale appointments that cut a subdued yet impressive sense of opulence, it’s an entire vibe that has spun out of homes and into fashion and decor.
With Clover and Palm, Caron extends that aesthetic into jewelry on the strength of Rawl’s metallurgic brilliance.
“It was an ‘ah ha’ moment, reaching out to Lissy. I had been thinking about design and how much I love what I do, and how much she loves what she does,” Caron said. “I was trying to find a creative outlet and realized we should be doing this together, because I don’t know the jewelry side of things like she does.”
Caron was already well versed in what Rawl was doing at Little Fish Boateak. Their paths had crossed numerous times when Rawl was working in the design world, and when she turned her attention toward jewelry, Caron was one of her early champions.
“I started this so I could have a little more flexible schedule and spend time with my children, and Kelly was the first to start carrying my pieces at pop-up events,” Rawl said. “Plus, she let me go through her library.”
That library is a vast vault of fabric samples that Rawl deftly incorporates into her art, creating earrings with intricate plaids, raffia, fur, and suede designs. With the support of Caron and a host of others who became champions for this experiment Rawl was operating out of a north end studio, Little Fish Boateak caught the eye of outlets like Southern Living.
Caron’s “ah ha” moment had a touch of destiny behind it, coming just as Rawl was looking toward the horizon of what would come next.
“I wanted to get into something that was more scalable and she hit me at the perfect time, because I was getting ready to figure that out,” Rawl said. “Either through Little Fish or something beyond jewelry, I had literally spent that entire day manifesting.”
Their partnership quickly lived up to the cosmic alignment that brought it into being, yielding a line that brings both of their talents to bear.
“With Clover and Palm, you can have your everyday going-out pieces and you can have that simple piece for date night or an evening out,” said Caron. “There’s a whole array to the collection and I feel like you can truly find something for every occasion and every person.”
With Clover and Palm, the upscale sophistication that Caron made famous lends opulence to Rawl’s designs, launching them into a different stratosphere.
With Clover and Palm, the famed sophistication that has made Kelly Caron Designs the standard bearer for luxury finds its ideal partner in the approachable everyday beauty of Little Fish Boateak. And like the creative partnership behind it, it’s shaping up to be something far more than the sum of its parts.
“We’re both creatives, but we’re day and night when it comes to our personal styles, so the collision of that has been really unique,” Caron said. “Lissy made a good point that Hilton Head doesn’t have an anchor – that one line with something for anyone who visits here that’s very resort-oriented and coastal, but also refined.”
“I admire Kelly’s business sense so much,” Rawl said. “The business side for me is more challenging. I love that creativity – getting in there and getting my hands dirty. Instantly, it was a no-brainer to join on and design something with her, since she’s somebody that’s already succeeded so well.”
