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Objet d'artAn alum who turns precious stones into timeless keepsakes
By Lauren Elder
Dallas native Cannon Lewis has made a name for herself—literally—in the jewelry business with her self-titled jewelry line. A 2005 graduate with an art history degree, Lewis uses her gift of artistry to create whimsical, one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect her love of the exquisite unexpectedness of nature and, ultimately, of life itself.
 "[My jewelry] really does reflect everyday life, because you don't know what you're getting yourself into," Lewis says. She puts a great deal of herself into her creations, which range from $55 for a pair of simple hoop earrings to upwards of $3,000 for one-of-a-kind pendants. For many of the pieces, Lewis writes and engraves accompanying poems or phrases, such as this message found on a number of pendants: "The outside is only a movement of the symphony within."
Lewis says each phase of life has brought something new and exciting for her, whether it was her time at Baylor, marriage to fellow Bear Gavin McClintock '05, or the arrival of the couple's first daughter, Margaret. Their recent move to New York City has allowed Lewis to expand her jewelry line and has brought her closer to some of the industry's most influential people.
Lewis first encountered jewelry design in an eighth-grade metal shop class, where she won an award for her design. It wasn't until her senior year of high school, however, that she truly discovered her passion for the craft.
"I fell into it," Lewis says. "I didn't really go into it deciding 'I'm going to make a jewelry line, and this is what I want to do.'"
What began as a small, afterschool project has morphed into a jewelry line carried by such high-end retailers as Barneys New York and Dallas's Stanley Korshak. Her signature line, Cannon Lewis, is composed of three sub-collections—Life, Captivate, and Trouvé—each containing pendants, earrings, bracelets, and rings that reflect the organic textures and lines found in leaves, rocks, and shells.
Her passion for jewelry is not the only aspect of Lewis's life that came about by accident. While on a jewelry trip to NYC during her sophomore year at Baylor, Lewis met her future husband. As if arranged by fate, McClintock was already planning to transfer to Baylor at the time. "We spent our last two years at Baylor together," Lewis says. "It's kind of serendipitous." Also during those last two years of college, Lewis landed her first major account, Barneys.
Looking back at her first pieces, Lewis says her designs have evolved over the years in two ways. "There's the actual maturity that happens when you do something for so long, but at the same time I think the core elements are the same," Lewis says.
What has changed for her is the materials that she uses. When she started, Lewis used only the silver wire and large stones available to a high schooler. As her access to precious gems and other luxury materials has increased, so has the caliber of her pieces. The stones Lewis works with have a natural brilliance and raw depth that drive her creativity.
Landscape quartz, for example, contains naturally occurring patterns that seem to depict an entire scene, unique to the particular stone, and incorporates well into Lewis's abstract designs.
Her technical skills have also advanced over the years. Wax casting, which allows Lewis to capture the more intricate and delicate textures of nature, now appears in many of her pieces, including a charm cast from the dove-shaped structures found inside a sand dollar. "I love that piece because it is so versatile; I never take it off," Lewis says.
While she looks to the coming years with excitement and anticipation, Lewis is the first to admit that she doesn't know what the future holds for herself, her family, or her career. "In a nutshell, I have no idea. [I'm] just here for the ride," she says.
Her life has changed dramatically with both her move to NYC and the transition into motherhood. "I guess I'm just getting older," Lewis says, "but I've learned not to know . . . or plan how life is going to change. I've been able to do what I really love doing. It's hard, and it's challenging sometimes, but, at the end of the day, I love it, and I wouldn't do anything else."
To experience Cannon Lewis Jewelry Design for yourself, visit cannonlewis.com.
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