ABOUT US

Catherine Phillips is Nomad's powerful matriarch although she'd humbly tell you otherwise. She is also known as the 'mayor of Boulder' to so many due to her generosity of spirit. She is always the first to lend a helping hand to someone in need and the first to offer a kind word or a laugh. Not only is she the owner of two successful businesses, Nomad Beads and Adorned by Nomad, but she also happens to be an incredible jewelry designer. She is our resident knotter, meticulously stranding together beautiful pearls or semi-precious gemstones. Her subtle style is quick to garner anyone's attention. Much like her personality, her work is warm, understated and powerful.

I vacillate between wanting to make pieces with whopping big fantastic beads and messing around with the tiniest gemstones I can find. It's a bit of a contradiction, but both of them lend themselves to my favorite technique. I like to knot beads. I usually prefer to work only with one kind of bead in a piece, because I feel that this allows the beauty of the material to really show itself. I love the process of knotting because it lends itself to a kind of meditative process. As I progress in technique and understanding, I have enjoyed using even better materials to create my pieces. It's very satisfying to wear really nice gems and pearls.

 

Margot Koval

Margot Koval is a female powerhouse with ownership Nomad Bead Merchants and her sister store, Adorned by Nomad. Her knack for treasure hunting makes her the resident jewelry pirate of the team, finding antique pieces in the most unlikely of places and restoring them to their original brilliance. She also can be described as the house designer advocate. Her passion comes from building community. She knows each of the artists in the shop intimately and loves to brag about their craftsmanship. Well it's our turn to brag as we adore Margot! Not only for her love of jewelry, her attention to detail and her sense of community, but for her fantastic sense of humor. When asked for some detail about her work she humbly replied:

"I make things. They are sparkly." 

There is something to be said for keeping it simple! We hope you enjoy Margot's work as much as we do. She happens to be the best-selling artist in the house!

 

Jake March

An owner of Nomad Beads, Jake is a spiritual and bohemian soul who infuses his kind, care-free energy into everything he creates. This jewelry designer was born in Sante Fe in 1968, the time of the "authentic hippy" as he calls it and was constantly surrounded by art and color. Jake attributes this part of his upbringing to his aesthetic, but was also influenced by summers spent on his grandmother's 350 acre farm and commune, The Rochester Folk Art Guild. These early days were steeped in craft, arts, theater, philosophy and spirituality. His interests lie in art, textiles, masks, jewelry and spirit. He makes this clear in how he describes his role:

"I am one of the owners of two beautiful stores here in Boulder - Nomad Bead Merchants and Adorned by Nomad. These stores would not be possible without my indispensable business partners and the unbelievable family that makes up our team.