BonMar was started in the summer of 1992 when Bonnie Kelley went gem mining in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. Upon her return home she joined a local gem club and starting buying beads. She initially started making her own earrings.

Designer Marilyn Krone in Tucson, AZ 1994

That summer Bonnie went to Atlanta for her mom's 80th birthday reunion, when she shared her love of stones and beads to her sister, Marilyn. They both went on vacation to Melrose on Daufuskie Island, SC to spend a weekend at the beach. Bonnie brought her bead box, tool kit and new creations.

Marilyn to help out Bonnie's hobby endeavor, set up a workshop for children and adults to make earrings. The idea caught on and by the end of the week guests were approaching for other requests. Marilyn had so much fun and she caught the "bead bug". She went home and started buying beads too.

Sisters and designers Bonnie Kelly & Marilyn Krone in Tucson, AZ 1994

A month earlier, Marilyn had purchased an eyeglass chain to hold her sunglasses made with multi colored hand-made fimo in the golf pro shop on a prior trip to Melrose. When she started getting so many comments and inquires on where she got it, she started to create her own for friends and associates. They discovered the demand that people had for a fashionable sunglass/eyeglass necklaces. Realizing that there was a void in the marketplace for these necklaces, they immediately started looking for someone to manufacture their creations.

At first, they were beading originals, which was very time consuming. Marilyn asked around to help her bead. Shortly after, she met Pam Brown through an introduction from one of her bead suppliers and they were in business.

She has been their sole manufacturer and friend of the BonMar family. They have subsequently kept their business at a level to keep up with the demand that she can produce.

The BonMar name comes from a sister team, Bonnie Kelley from Detroit, Michigan and Marilyn Krone from Atlanta, GA.

Both Marilyn and Bonnie create the designs and Pam does the beading. "We are having a lot of fun and want to limit our business so it stays fun!" says Marilyn Krone. "My sister, Bonnie, is the true naturalist and is very knowledgeable on stone, gems and minerals. She's more of a purist where is I specialize in the design aspect". Being a busy mother, housewife and volunteer, Marilyn thought this would be something she could do in her spare time.

Marilyn now fits in her time for BonMar between volunteer projects and her other new business, The Cabins at Seven Foxes in Lake Toxaway, NC, www.sevenfoxes.com. Bonnie lives in Detroit, Michigan and works full time as a trained optician.

For two consecutive years they went to Tucson, Arizona to the largest gem and mineral show in the world in search of new finds. They secured many unique sources and now ordered mainly from these connections.

They have been featured in catalogs such as Sugar Hill, Charles Keath, In the Company of Dogs, Peridot and Camelia and Main. They sold their necklaces to Bergdorf Goodman, Barney's and Selima Optique in New York as well as many other stores around the U.S. They have done a few shows but really depend on their travels and word of mouth.

Bonnie and Marilyn live in different cities but share their ideas and exchange bead finds. They primarily specialize in the eyeglass/sunglass necklaces but also make coordinating stretch bracelets. They have created neclaces for Atlanta celebrities such as Jane Fonda and Elton John.

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