Kate Pearce
Pearce Jewelers, West Lebanon, NH
Kate and Fred Pearce, owners of Pearce Jewelers, have been a design team since their student days in the mid-’60s. After college, the couple formed Peace Design, handcrafting fine jewelry to wholesale to stores nationwide. (They still produce their wedding band line for galleries). The couple opened their first retail location in 1986. Kate Pearce says she’s having “too much fun” to retire from retail yet, but when she does she’ll continue to do appraisal work.