EDMOND — Dean Martin made popular the song “Far Away Places” singing, “those far away places with strange sounding names, are calling, calling me,” but a trio of Edmond ladies is bringing those places home by way of their fashion jewelry.
Diana Pate and two of her daughters, Stephanie Carel and Sondra Reid, make up this trio that create fashion jewelry that could be called fashion art, and they are celebrating their Grand Opening from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at their new gallery in downtown Edmond. Jewelry will be 20 percent off, and there will be $1,000 in prizes including gift certificates and jewelry.
The trio can be found crafting old Roman coins, Roman glass found in Israel, vintage glass or an array of beads from around the world including Czech glass, African trade beads, nut beads, Japanese seed beads, China glass and Italian Murano beads into one-of-a-kind objects of wearable art.
Mother of pearl, freshwater pearls, sea coral, spiny oyster shell, semi-precious, precious, rare and exotic gems can be seen shining from the show cases.
The metal materials used are made all over the world, also.
“All of our jewelry is strung on either monofilament, Soft Flex, silk or leather,” Diana said.
These artists categorize their fashion jewelry in groupings with colorful names like Opening Night, Cactus Flowers, Towne and Country, Ever After and Rock Candy with pendants, watches, ankle bracelets and lanyards thrown in as well as brooches, head pieces, rings and even a collection called Sugar Babies for the younger crowd.
“Some of our jewelry has been mounted and framed and used by our clients on their walls instead of paintings,” Stephanie said.
On the wall of their new showplace, a pre-Columbian piece hangs for viewing only. The beads were found in a box at an estate sale.
With more than 19,581 piece of jewelry made in the past five years alone, the three design and make all of the jewelry they sell. 
“We have buyers around the world who know our tastes and what we like, and they send us beads and items we use in making our jewelry,” Diana said. 
With their collected reputation made on Southwest jewelry designs, the group has expanded their styles over the years to include “glam” for fun or high fashion couture, jewelry for vintage looks, weddings and pieces that make a statement.
Prices range from $30 to more than $6,000, and a necklace can be found for anyone for any occasion.
Each of the items in their collection is handcrafted by Diana, Stephanie and Sondra. They are all unique, and may vary slightly, but all of the pieces are one-of-a-kind.
Their mom is famous for her flowers made of mother of pearl and crystals, but each of the ladies has her favorite necklaces she has made.
Sondra’s favorite necklace is made of silver and coral and is composed of six individual necklaces and a pendant. The necklaces can be worn individually or two or three together or worn as one statement necklace.
“Our pieces are not only unique, but we want them to be versatile also,” Sondra said.
With a start piece to build from, the sisters said a lot of the pieces they make they know immediately what the finished product will be, but that is not always true.
“The necklace with the six individual pieces and the pendant took me six months to finish,” Sondra said. “I would look at the start piece, begin working on the necklace, tear it apart, then start on it again until I had the finished piece.”
The three spend most of their days working.
“In addition to making our jewelry, we do repairs, pearl knotting for jewelry stores, and we make specialty necklaces,” Stephanie said. “I love working one on one with clients as they bring cherished pieces of jewelry to be updated or have a custom item they would like to have made.”
They have established a following of clients who buy their creations from the studio, arts festivals and trunk shows around the country. Silver Leaf Gems currently sells to more than 130 businesses across the United States and they have customers in five countries.
From rock hounds to creators of art the three have varied backgrounds leading them to come back to their home state of Oklahoma and settling in Edmond.
“My mother Joann McLaughlin was very creative,” Diana said, “and my grandparents were rock hounds.”
Diana and Sondra opened The Bead Attic in Edmond in the spring of 2002 where they sold beads and ready-made jewelry for three years until they sold the business in 2005 to pursue their dream of designing full-time.
Early in 2006, Stephanie joined her sister and mom to make it a trio. The group moved to the basement of a private studio that spring and quickly made a name for themselves as Silver Leaf Gems. 
The studio is at Silver Leaf Gems at 19 N. Broadway in Edmond; to schedule an appointment for a custom piece call 285-9700. To view a small part of their collection visit www.silverleafgems.com. Silver Leaf Gems will deliver or ship orders.