Heather Kendall Elegant Shells Designs

Show Notes

12/31/2025 22 MIN

Episode 1 - Heather Kendall Elegant Shells Designs

Heather Kendall became a success seashell designer after a family vacation. Her love of collecting shells came from spending time on the beach when her younger brother was ill. She turned this passion into a thriving business. Some of Heather's most famous clients are entrepreneur Sara Blakely of SPANX and commentator Tucker Carlson.

Episode transcript sample

Louise Krikorian: What are, who are some of your most famous clients that?

Heather Kendall: I'd say my two most famous clients are Tucker Carlson and Sara Blakely.

LK: Did you know both of them?

HK: I knew Sara very well. I grew up with her and, uh, am close with her mother and my sister's best friends with her brother and my mother's best friends with her mother still today. Yes.

LK: And how did you meet Tucker?

HK: Tucker I met through, uh, I've done a lot of work down in Boca Grande. It's an island south of me here in Florida. And, uh, I have mutual friends that knew him because he lived on the island and knew he was looking for a fireplace and said, oh, you have to have Heather Kendall. So that's how…

LK: That's great.

HK: My, my friend Sam Hobbs, he's also, um, he's also a shell artist and is from Delaware, but has lived down there with his family off and on. So grandmother’s or his mother's lived there for, for a very long time. And he creates shell pieces with only shells from Boca Grande that he finds, which is very unique. And I think they wanted him to do it. And then he said, oh no, I can't do it. You have to call Heather Kendall.

Hosts & Guests: Louise Krikorian, Host & Heather Kendall, Guest

Information

Louise Krikorian’s outline of questions comes from years of researching the psychology of learning, motivating students, and Dr. Angela Duckworth’s work on Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. For more information on Dr. Angela Duckworth, you can visit https://angeladuckworth.com/.

In this episode you will hear about Heather’s horse, Alan.  Please note that she sees him regularly and he has a number of loving care givers.

Heather Kendall's email: heather@elegantshells.com. 

Heather Kendall’s Elegant Shells Designs Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/elegantshellsdesigns/?hl=en

WEDU Arts Plus 517: Elegant Shells Clearwater designer Heather Kendal  Uses shells to create ocean-inspire home furnishings 05/26/2016: Rating NR

https://www.pbs.org/video/wedu-arts-plus-517-elegant-shells/

Creator: Louise Krikorian

Years Active: 2025

Episodes: 1

Rating: Clean

Copyright @2025 Buzzsprout

Provider Buzzsprout www.buzzsprout.com

Transcript

SOS Heather Kendall Elegant Shells Designs 12/31/25

Louise Krikorian: Hi, I’m Louise Krikorian and this is Shaping Our Story where we talk with exemplary leaders who reveal their success. Stick around for my follow up with today’s leader to hear a very important question. Today we're talking with Heather Kendall. She's lived near the beach for most of her life and that has influenced her passion and her purpose. She makes seashell designs for her business, elegant shells to create a sense of peace in hotels and homes around the world. Welcome, Heather. 

Heather Kendall: Thank you. Hello. Thank you for having me. 

LK: So the first time we met was probably back around 2003, and then in 2016, um, I interviewed you for WEDU Arts plus PBS, 

LK: and that was my very first episode for PBS, and that was wonderful. The feedback that I got on that was phenomenal. 

HK: Oh, that was a wonderful interview and I'm grateful that you chose me. And again… 

LK: Yes, again for this very first episode of Shaping Our Story. So I'm curious, even though I know a little bit about this, from knowing you for a while, what was the, what was the seed that started your interest in working with seashell? 

HK: I'm sure that my interest in nature and especially shells was um, thanks to my cousin Mary who took me on long walks at low tide on Clearwater Beach for years. Um, helping to take care of me when my little brother was sick and she just always pointed out the beauty and everything around us. Um, and my grandmother did as well. Mary Ford, my maternal grandmother. 

LK: So that was a, that's a really positive spin on such a difficult time in your life. Your brother was your only sibling.

HK: Yes. Yep, that I had, um, a house full of cousins and my aunt Diane. Um, and my Uncle Kingsley, and they were right on the water next to Carlouel Yacht Club and a block from the beach. And they taught me how to snow ski and water ski and sail. And I wouldn't say that I was suffering, um, through that time at all. I, I missed my mother and my father and my little brother. And I actually don't recall that time, uh, of any sadness. Um, unless, except for the, with the day that I learned he passed away. 

LK: I'm so sorry…

HK: That’s okay. Thank you.

LK: …but I know that, I know that, um, you, you grew up in Florida, 

HK: I did.

LK: So those beaches, those beaches were, they're on the bay.

HK: Um, the bay is on, it's in a peninsula, a very, a very thin peninsula. So the, there's only two streets, but at the north end of the beach, um, well, there's one street and the bay is on one side of the street and the, and the Gulf of Mexico is on the other. 

LK: So, you were collecting shells just because it was a fun thing to do because what child can't resist collecting shells?

HK: Yes. We actually only collected, um, cat eyes, like tiny cat eyes, and a lot of them have, after they've been, um, after they die, there's another shell that has drilled a hole in it and eaten the snail out. And so we would just take a little gold chain and put it right through the hole and then wear them around our neck.

LK: I never knew that. I always wondered how that little hole got into the shell, because it's really, 

HK: That's why the hole is there. 

LK: It's really hard to drill a hole in a shell. 

HK: It's another shell or parasite. Um, usually a shell, another shell that, or snail that conquers them. 

LK: So why didn't you become a marine biologist?

HK: I could have, I think I was more encouraged, um, with my mother shopping than I was to be a scientist. So I have a fashion design and merchandising and, um, arts degrees. 

LK: So you grew up around a lot of artists. 

HK: Yes. 

LK: So that, that was one thing that really helped to encourage you. 

HK: Yes, and I, and I got all the good sides I thought of this. Um, my, my father was a world champion, um, spear fisherman, so we were always on big fast boats. I was diving at eight years old with my sisters and, um, it, I've got to enjoy, you know, all of the marine life right on my dock and, and I, and I still love all of that today. And I, in biology, was one of my favorite classes as a, as a child and photography.

LK: So then how did you actually start creating the shell designs? Because now we go to, when you're an adult, you've gotten married, you have three beautiful sons…

HK: Thank you. 

LK: And you're on a vacation. 

HK: Yes. Um, I went on a vacation to the Panhandle of Florida with about eight families, um, all of our dear friends, and stayed in a house that had a fabulous vintage, uh. antique. Um, obviously vintage antique, a vintage Spanish chandelier, and all of the crystal had had been taken off and it had seashells all on it. And the girls went shopping. We found the store. And Virginia Howard was a seashell artist that had made, um all kinds of beautiful things, uh, little shades and sconces. Her husband would make vases and she would just shell everything. And so, um, after that trip, I came home with one of my girlfriends and we decided that we would give it a try. And we did. And it was quite a success at the country clubs, yacht clubs at the Christmas boutiques. And that was 25 years ago.

LK: And I, I recall you saying that you earned about $10,000. 

HK: Yes, we, we made $10,000 in three days, our first little shows. 

LK: But you also had a wonderful venue. 

HK: Yes. It helps to be at a place right by the water with a lot of wealthy women that are shopping. 

LK: Definitely. 

HK: Yep. 

LK: So there are a lot of things that really help to shape your passion.

HK: Yes. And a lot of those people became customers over the years for fireplace surrounds and custom mirrors and chandeliers, and they still are today. I have, um, two chandeliers due right now to people from back then. 

LK: So what would you say is your goal now with your business goal? 

HK: Goal? Am I supposed to have a goal? I have, um, ideas. I have. You know, ideas, I kind of love variety and so I end up doing other kinds of jobs also, and I don't, um, I kind of feel like, oh, once I come up with the idea and plan out how it would work, then I've almost done it. Does that makes any sense? 

LK: Mm-hmm. 

HK: Most people plan an idea and then continue until the product's created, but um, I guess a lot of my joy comes out of creating it. Just the ideas, which is like my mother, she creates ideas all the time. 

LK: So is your mom one of the people that really helped to sort of coach you through what you were doing or were there other people? 

HK: She definitely encouraged me. Um, when I was 10 years old, she had me create my first collection of shells on a board and name them all and learn about them, and that definitely encouraged me. She was always, um, she is always very helpful whenever I need assistance. She's helped me do fireplaces and, um, travels with me sometimes if I travel to do a job, and that's always really fun. She's very encouraging.

LK: And she has her own studio and you have some of your things in the studio, or you teach in in her studio.

HK: Yes, she has a teaching studio in Bel Air called the Painted Pair Studio and Gallery and in Bel Air, Florida. And I teach, um, small seashell classes there and she also teaches all kinds of painting classes. Paint your pet or find your favorite photograph and paint it. And she's very, a very good teacher.

LK: Have you ever met any students who have said, you know, I always wanted to do this, but everybody around me told me I couldn't. 

HK: I think that I get a lot of customers that are in that position that don't think they can do it, and, and honestly, they probably can't do it exactly the way I do it, but everybody can learn, you know, to do anything.

LK: So how do you inspire people to, to follow their passion? 

HK: Well, I, I think by teaching classes at my mother's studio and down in Boca Grande, I teach at the art center there. And I have also taught at private parties. People just have, invite me to their house and have all their friends over, or if it's a bridal party or birthday party, that kind of thing. And, um, everybody usually comes out of there very happy and satisfied and, um, as long as they're not extremely competitive and judging themselves against everyone else and just designing or creating from their heart, then they are satisfied and happy and have a new, um, hobby. 

LK: So I know that's something that you had mentioned that you, um, in talking to you before that something that you really want to do with your work is to help instill a sense of peace and joy in people's homes.

HK: Well, I think that for me, I know that nature inspires, um, a calm, peaceful feeling and. While, I'm working, I, I end up almost in a meditative state if I'm not watching Netflix or some romantic historical drama. Um, I think that just that process of thinking and being quiet and looking at something and figuring out where you want to put a shell or, or what shell, which shell you want to put. There is a, it's an internal calm process that you're working with beautiful things and each one's different and you're creating a piece of art with it. It's fun and it is relaxing. 

LK: So how do you get feedback?

HK: Um, I guess satisfied customers and people that see it, that say it's beautiful and good quality and unique. That's probably the only way I get feedback. 

LK: Has anybody ever said, you know, that's not what I wanted, or can you change it? 

HK: No, because I work with them throughout the process. I, I find out what they're dreaming of, and then I oftentimes will do a layout on paper that's the exact size of the piece that we're making for mirrors and fireplaces. And so they see it beforehand and they also see it finished product pictures, you know, beforehand and know what it's going to turn into. 

LK: What are, who are some of your most famous clients that? 

HK: I'd say my two most famous clients are Tucker Carlson and Sara Blakely. 

LK: Did you know both of them? 

HK: I knew Sara very well. I grew up with her and, uh, am close with her mother and my sister's best friends with her brother and my mother's best friends with her mother still today. Yes. 

LK: And how did you meet Tucker? 

HK: Tucker I met through, uh, I've done a lot of work down in Boca Grande. It's an island south of me here in Florida. And, uh, I have mutual friends that knew him because he lived on the island and knew he was looking for a fireplace and said, oh, you have to have Heather Kendall. So that's how…

LK: That's great. 

HK:, my, my friend Sam Hobbs, he's also, um, he's also a shell artist and is from Delaware, but has lived down there with his family off and on. So grandmother’s or his mother's lived there for, for a very long time. And he creates shell pieces with only shells from Boca Grande that he finds, which is very unique. And I think they wanted him to do it. And then he said, oh no, I can't do it. You have to call Heather Kendall. 

LK: Oh wow. 

HK: That's how I got the job. 

LK: So how do you know artists from all around the world? 

HK: Um, I know artists from all around, around the world, thankfully from social media, from mainly Instagram, following other seashell artists and commenting and liking, and then they realize you're a seashell artist. And then you have messages saying, “Oh my gosh,” or “How many hours does that take you?” And when another seashell artist says, “Great job,” it's a, it's a really great feeling and you know, they understand how long it took and what went into it. 

LK: So that leads us to maybe the last, next to last question or last question, which is What's Next?

HK: Uh, which you, which you are directing me towards, which is an, a project that I do want to do and I have started, I don't know, somehow I think that I'm going to do it when I'm older or when I'm not. Racing around doing so many things. But yes, there is a project in the works in the beginning that involves a lot of different seashell artists. That's all I'm gonna say. (Laughs)

LK: So, so what I have to say to that is how do you prioritize? 

HK: It's kind of like, what's your plan? The same question like I, I prioritize by what has to be done, or I, I care a lot about, um, other people in my life, like the people in my life. And if it's customer that's expecting something, then I prioritize that. If it's a person that needs me, I prioritize that. So that's how I prioritize. 

LK: So the, so the project that you have that we're sort of kind of dancing around…

HK: Yes. 

LK: That just kind of has to speak to you to say, okay, you need to do this now. 

HK: Yes. 

LK: So you are working on another project that takes you away from the St. Pete area.

HK: Yep. I have, I, I have, I mean, I have a, a big bar, a mobile bar that's due in Boca Grande and chandeliers due different places. And sometimes I fly to California and do put in fireplace surrounds and that sort of thing. But are you talking about my other job as a property manager in bed and breakfast? 

LK: Yes. 

HK: Yep. Because my cousins needed some help and I thought that sounded fun. So I have been doing that too. Yeah. Two weeks out of every month. 

LK: And what's the name of that bed and breakfast? 

HK: The Hoyt House in Amelia Island, um, in Fernandina Beach. It's a hundred-year-old, 10 bedroom beautiful bed and breakfast, and I get to help with the gardens and decorating and designing menus. And even being a chef now. 

LK: Making breakfast for 20 people, was it? 

HK: Yes. (Laughs) Yes. 

LK: Wow, you're so talented. 

HK: It's very fun. 

LK: Yeah. 

HK: It's just all the, all the things I like to do, so. 

LK: Mm-hmm. 

HK: If, if I could be on a, on a ranch in Colorado, I would do that too and cook for those people and help take care of their horses and 

LK: Yeah

HK: It's all, yeah.

LK: Takes us to our favorite horse. 

HK: True.

LK: Alan. Alan is just so sweet and so beautiful. 

HK: He is a wonderful blessing. 

LK: Yeah. 

HK: Grateful for him. 

LK: What type of horse is he? 

HK: He's a Tennessee Walker Paint black and white. 

LK: Yeah. And he just won a lot of ribbons in his very first show. 

HK: Yes, he did. He is beautiful. 

LK: Yeah. Talk about peaceful and being out in nature and just walking Allen around a paddock and he's so gentle. He's so sweet. And 

HK: Thankfully.

LK:  Yeah, thankfully. Definitely. 

HK: Yeah. 

LK: Yeah. So what is the best way, um, to contact you? 

HK: Um, I think just through finding me on Instagram, Elegant Shell's Designs is the best way I am. Working on, uh, creating a new website right now, that'll be up and it'll be called Elegant Shells. Um, but Instagram is probably the best way or just email me at heather@elegantshells.com.

LK: That's wonderful. You know, I'm thinking about, we didn't talk about any struggles, but actually you touched upon the biggest struggle in your life at the very beginning. 

HK: Mm-hmm. 

LK: You know, and you just, you overcome them by spending time with people you love and by spending time in nature. 

HK: Mm-hmm. Yes. We have to refocus and not allow, I don't know, scary things or negative people to infiltrate your life and take charge. It's, we are 100%, um, responsible for our own happiness, and it's our responsibility to be, uh, in control so that we can be good for other people. 

LK: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, your, your sentiments and your artwork and everything that you've created has definitely helped to, to spread peace and joy around the world. Your, your work is..

HK: Thank you, Louise.

LK: in hotels around the world. 

HK: Thank you. I appreciate that. I hope that people think of the ocean and don't throw cans in it because they saw a shell in a hotel and are appreciative of how beautiful so many things are down below the water. 

LK: Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time and your work.

HK: Thank you, Louise. Good luck on this new venture. I can't wait to see all your stories. 

LK: Thank you so much. Bye for now. 

HK: Bye.

LK: I thought of one more important question for Heather after our interview, which was “How long does it take to finish a fireplace surround, a chandelier or a mirror?” 

She said, “It just depends on the intricacy of it. She just finished a fireplace surround that she sold for $20,000, which took eight days of manual labor, days and days and days of planning and redesigning architecturally. The chandeliers take about three to four days, and a mirror can take three or four days, but then that doesn’t include the time for cutting the frame and designing it. She cuts the frame, orders the glass, lays out the shells, and then gets her client’s approval.

This really speaks to how Heather has become successful because she is committed to finishing a project. She combines her passion with persistence.

Thank you for spending time with us. Come back and listen to hear more exemplary leaders share their success story on Apple Podcast, Spotify, iHeart Radio, or watch our videos on YouTube. Please follow us, comment, and Like us on Facebook at Shaping Our Story.