Kate grew up on Long Island in suburban New York. The arts scene in New York City during the fifties and sixties, was one filed with media innovation and color exploration. Always fascinated by unusual and alternative life styles her first career ambitions were a choice between dance, music or visual art. The decision to accept a scholarship to study fine art and painting at Syracuse University, was the choice made. Color is the strongest motivation of Kate’s artistic expression. Through color one can express mood and sublime passion. Her fascination with the work of Hans Hoffman led to the museums and Galleries of New York City. It was only a short journey until the work of Renee Lalique was discovered. Through her selected major in jewelry, and specifically enameled metals, Kate could combine a love of fine body adornment and fashion with the vibrancy of scintillating color and reflective surfaces. The journey into the magic world of gemstones and gemol ogy was a natural progression in the development of her artistic pursuits.

Fred and Kate Pearce met in 1964, while both were studying fine art at Syracuse University. What started out as shared studio space and lab time, has become a lifetime devoted to each other and the designing and crafting of fine and unique jewelry. So much of their forms and sculptural details are a reflection of the environments in which they have selected to live.

It hasn’t always just been about the art.

They lived in the mountains of New England where they taught learning disabled children, using art as a non verbal communication tool. It was there that they learned that they could actually sell their designs under the name of Pearce Studio. While in New Hampshire, they developed a selection of hand screened greeting cards and posters, mostly to enable Kate to express her love of color and graphic design. The apartment was too small for the jewelry, so they returned to the sea.

They thrived on a wholesome lifestyle in Maine during the 1970’s. Their professional jewelry efforts were started from a one room studio space in their seaside 19th century farm house in Deer Isle, Me., They also farmed -cultivating vegetables, goats, fowl, and hogs.

They raised two sons, both of whom have grown into fine young men professionally and university trained in the in the visual and performing arts.

During the 1980’s after relocating to New Hampshire, they developed a signature line of hand forged jewelry . This was sold at craft venues in the northeast region of the USA, during the time of the emergence of crafts as the most significant art movement of the second half of the twentieth century. Galleries, tiring of the politics of the visual arts movement, grew to cherish the intimacy manifested in the hand crafted clay, glass, fiber and metal of the hand crafted item.