Charlotte Magazine / July 2009 / Strings Attached

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Strings Attached

Pearl and Crystal Earrings, $21 "These earrings are simple yet eye catching. They would add punch to any summer dress." -Anne Owczarzak

Plenty of teens have after-school jobs slinging burgers or punching movie tickets, but Christine White and Anne Owczarzak had loftier career goals. They launched a booming business while they were still students at Charlotte Catholic.   

Today, White and her husband, David, own the Myers Park shop On a String (416 Providence Rd., 704-334-1105), and Owczarzak works there full time. The company was born when the sisters opened a pint-size bead stand inside their mother's interiors shop. "Customers took us seriously," says White. "In 2005, we opened our own store."

At On a String, some clients craft their own jewelry. Others commission White, twenty-four, and Owczarzak, twenty-five, to modernize heirlooms (think charm bracelets strung with granny's earrings). The design-savvy sisters hope to add more jewels to their entrepreneurial crown. "We'd love to expand," says White. "We're setting our sights on another location or two."