Inside the studio of her Kalispell home, Jenean Hill looks over beads sorted into plastic trays covering a large table.  

She picks up a dark purple, teardrop-shaped bead, remarking on its unique patterns. Gently grabbing a turquoise bird, she notes it as a fun option. Moving to a nearby row, she points out several opaque beads with bees inlaid into the surface in gold and copper.  

After selecting the focal bead, she’ll move on to selecting smaller complementary beads and finally the metal to run through the beads. Using jewelry tools, she clips and pinches the materials at just the right spots, creating earrings. When the pair is finished, she places them in a display card. And she’s ready to repeat the process.  

“An artist can draw, but a designer puts multiple pieces together in a way that looks good,” she says.  

What started as a hobby of making earrings for herself, friends and family, has become Lake Hills Designs of Montana. And the whole process, including working in her studio, has served as therapy.  

Shortly after being in a rear-end collision and suffering a concussion, Hill was one of the first people she knew to contract Covid-19 in 2020. 

She came home from the hospital with balance, stability, speech and memory issues that left her no longer able to work as a national real estate sales trainer and broker. But what she could still do was make earrings.  

“It’s rewarding to get to do something with my hands,” she said.  

Previously, having lived in Montana, she and her husband were able to come home to the Flathead Valley from California. One day, while getting her hair done at Evolve Hair Studio, the owner, Vanessa Holycross, noticed her earrings and asked about selling them.  

She decided to give it a try. After being disappointed in the quality of the beads she found in local craft stores, she started sourcing beads from around the world. She discovered glass beads from the Czech Republic and then porcelain earring charms made in Spain. To round out her offerings, she began sourcing hammered metals from Istanbul that pair nicely with the bright, shiny glass beads.  

“It became my goal to source beads that were exquisite, made in smaller batches and could stand the test of time,” she said. 

Lake Hills Designs has grown, selling earrings at craft markets, local retail shops, including at the MOD Hive in downtown Kalispell and online at Etsy. Though she enjoys selling her earrings, it’s not the goal — rather, she sees it as a reward to spend time in her studio.  

“It’s a wonderful retreat to be surrounded by beautiful things that put a smile on ladies' faces,” she said. “Some days I’m in a design mood, and I fill up plastic containers with my designs. Then I come to the studio the next day and turn on a podcast for an assembly day.”  

As part of her endeavors, Hill holds earring parties in her home studio. Five people, either friends or strangers, come to design earrings, selecting from hundreds of bead options and then watch as she makes custom earrings for them.  

“My real joy comes from connecting with ladies to create something that warms their hearts as well as mine,” she said. “Five strangers may come for the evening, and by the end of the night each has four new friends.”

For more information on Lake Hill Designs, visit LakeHillsDesigns.etsy.com or email [email protected].  

Deputy Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or [email protected]. 

    A pair of earrings designed by Jenean Hill. (Courtesy photo)
 

    A pair of earrings designed by Jenean Hill. (Courtesy photo)