Over Accessorizing? Not When It’s Nicole Leigh
What started as a hobby four years ago for Preston Hollow sisters Samantha Nicole Devito and Taylor Leigh Kurz has quickly grown into a successful jewelry line sold nationally in nearly 80 stores.
(ABOVE – FROM LEFT: Samantha Nicole Devito and Taylor Leigh Kurz. Courtesy photos)
“We have always worn a ton of jewelry, and that’s kind of what we were known for, we never put on an outfit without over-accessorizing,” DeVito said.
Using their middle names, which the two say they’re very attached to, the sisters named their company Nicole Leigh Jewelry and said they knew the hobby would quickly turn into a business the very first year after being picked up in 10 local stores.
As third-generation business owners, you could say success was in their DNA.
Kurz said coming from an entrepreneurial family helped kick start their journey to success in the business sector just like their grandfather and his brother, and father and uncle who also had businesses together.
The sibling entrepreneurial duo said that one of the perks of working with family is having the freedom to be honest without having to worry about hurting the others feelings. They love creatively challenging themselves, and every season is different, and they each have their favorites, DeVito said.
However, creating a brand wasn’t exactly easy, Kurz said.
The sisters ended up rebranding the line toward the end of 2015.
The sisters said they were designing for trends in the beginning, and it was more colorful, but decided they wouldn’t personally wear those pieces and rebranded to their style.
“We don’t design to follow the trends; we actually want our pieces to look different,” DeVito said.
They design earrings, bracelets, rings, and other things and play around with texture, neutral colors and even gunmetal. The siblings describe their jewelry as neutral and edgy and meant for lots of layering.
It doesn’t ever have to match, Kurz said – it’s all about how one puts the pieces together.
Starting Nicole Leigh, the sisters said they never expected to be successful. It was refreshing to see that other people liked what they wore and made, they said.
Their inspiration to grow stems from their entrepreneurial family and to be able to go to their dad for advice, and hopefully getting to that level of success in the next 30 to 40 years.
“We still continue to learn,” DeVito said. “I mean every single market we go to, every single retailer, every single conversation we have with our customers, we are always learning.”
Nicole Leigh Jewelry was started by the sisters Samantha DeVito and Taylor Kurz in 2015. Their jewelry can be found at their online store nicoleleighjewelry.com and in stores like Blue Print, Cotton Island, Saint Bernard and Swoozie’s in Dallas. A full list of retailers is on their website.
