By Judith Richards
Contributing Writer

Anita Park-Rosenbaum and her daughter, Alece Nordstrom, came to Fairhope from Cleveland, Ohio pursuing a dream. They wanted to be in business together someday, and they wanted to design and create jewelry.

Anita Park-Rosenbaum (left) and her daughter, Alece Nordstrom, co-own Analece Design and Bayside Beads in downtown Fairhope. Photo by Judith Richards.

“We were looking for a beach town with a strong arts community,” Anita said. “We checked out the Outer Banks in North Carolina, went to Sausalito, Calif., and even looked inland to Santa Fe, N.M. We considered the pros and cons of each place.”

Then they discovered Fairhope and fell in love with the town.

“I grew up in a small north Alabama town,” the mother said. “When I was 19 years old, I couldn't wait to leave. But they say Southern girls always come back to their roots and bring their husbands with them.”

Anita had an art background but was acting CFO of her husband’s business in Ohio. Alece, who had gone to art school on scholarship, was busy at home with four small children. To get out and spend time together, the women signed up for a pottery class. After pottery, they turned to learning metal craft and the use of silver clay to make jewelry.

The Mitsubishi Corp. in Japan had developed a product called silver clay, which was meant for use in circuitry board technology. The clay didn’t work for circuitry use. Mitsubishi offered it to artists. When worked and fired, the clay shrinks away from its form and leaves pure silver.

Using the medium, mother and daughter began to design earrings. They took 500 pairs to an Ohio art show and sold out the first day. Encouraged, they traveled to San Francisco and enrolled at the Alan Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. Revere is an award-winning, world-renowned master goldsmith, and highly regarded as a teacher. Under his tutelage, the mother-daughter team learned design and stone setting. They were determined to start their own jewelry business “someday.”

In the fall of 2004, 10 days after Hurricane Ivan, Anita and Alece drove over the one-sided bridge across Pensacola Bay, praying that the structure had been thoroughly checked for safety. Their cell phones didn’t work here. They had no motel reservations. Trees were down, signs mangled.

Nevertheless, the women browsed through local shops, talked to business owners and soon rented space for their first gallery and design store.

Despite hurricanes and months away from their husbands, juggling work and caring for four young children, the two combined their names — Anita and Alece — and launched Analece Design and Bayside Beads.

Alece said the children immediately loved it here. In a phone call to his father, her son excitedly reported, “Dad, we went to the beach! And Dad, they have cockroaches the size of dogs down here.”

In a few months, both husbands joined their families. The first Analece gallery was opened February 2005.

“This is someday — now!”Anita said.

A year later the women moved their business to the center of town where Fairhope Avenue meets Section Street.

Analece Design and Bayside Beads has been a good fit with the community. They now represent 20 other artists as well as exhibiting their own work Additional designers are Karen Cazel, silversmith, and Kayla Tomlinson who does custom beadwork. Neal and Julie Thomas are the resident lapidaries.

Displayed in the large front window of the gallery are striking geodes and original jewelry created from precious metal and gems.

Analece will soon establish the Rock Solid Education Fund, a passport program to teach children about rocks and the earth. Classes, field trips and contests are planned.

“Local support kept our business going after two hurricanes, and we want to do something focused and worthwhile for Baldwin County. We’re giving back to the community.”

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