Canoe owner and designer, Lynn Kemp, is this North Georgia destination’s gold mine
BLUE RIDGE, GEORGIA – Her work featured multiple years in a row as the metallic icing on the models of “Sports Illustrated” Swimsuit Edition, it’s hard to believe the Blue Ridge, Georgia, designer and owner behind Canoe, Lynn Kemp, got her start designing spirit bracelets for students at her kids’ high school.
Tucked away just 90 miles north of Atlanta off Highway 575, Blue Ridge, is home to the gem known as Canoe, where you can shop wearable art, including handbags and jewelry for both men and women. Kemp and her husband originally pictured the charming mountain home as so many do – a vacation getaway from the busy life in Atlanta, but the getaway quickly became a permanent residence as the Kemps fell prey, like so many, to the allure of Blue Ridge.
“After moving here four years ago, I found a great space to rent in downtown Blue Ridge to move the making of my jewelry. I outgrew that space within a year and then moved to a 1,000-square-foot space for design and manufacturing,” says Kemp.
A year passed and again the business needed more space to manufacture and ship. So Kemp kept her original space strictly for making and shipping the goods. The manufacturing space is located on the bottom floor of Oyster Fly Rods, where Bill and Shannen Oyster craft all of their rods by hand, making the whole building an ode to authentic made in Blue Ridge goods and, perhaps more so, an ode to the mountain town’s growing reputation as a haunt for tremendous entrepreneurial success.
Kemp’s background in the fashion industry as a menswear buyers for Macy’s and later with Liz Claiborne Inc., gave her the know-how to go about developing a seasonal collection of jewelry instead of just bracelets. Factor in a few years of selling to friends, and Kemp was ready to make the jump to full-time jewelry designer, gaining instant recognition, including a licensing deal for jewelry under a different name that introduced her to the Gift Industry in Atlanta and New York and garnered Kemp invaluable contacts in sales which have led to continuous growth.
More than ten years later, handbags are now at the forefront of Kemp’s business. New bracelets are also introduced seasonally and work beautifully with the store’s classic bangles. With over 30 colors, bangles are a mainstay but Kemp notes the most popular colors are timeless neutrals.
Kemp’s passion for the business knows no limits, perhaps a key ingredient – in addition to her talent – to her recipe for success. “There are so many parts of the business I love! I love designing a new line twice per year, I love working with a showroom designer who gives the wholesale spaces at AmericasMart a new look each season, I love pushing myself to keep growing the business, I love keeping it all made in Blue Ridge!” she says. “I also love working with the women at Canoe as they are invaluable to the business, including my daughter Haley.”
If you go
From lake-view with a mountain vista and room for 20 to cabins hidden away and built only for two (hot tub included!) find links to cabin rental companies at www.BlueRidgeMountains.com.
Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, www.BlueRidgeMountains.com, 1-800-899-MTNS.