Legacy in Every Link: How Jewelry Became the Language of Our Family

Before Nightshade & Co. became a haven for gothic elegance and handcrafted treasures, it was something simpler: a kitchen table covered in findings, charms, and beads. And at the center of it all was CalicoCathy—a woman who believed in beauty, detail, and the joy of making something with your own two hands.

Jewelry Is In Our Blood

CalicoCathy (Catherine) was born just days before Halloween in 1956 and had a lifelong passion for sparkle and sentiment. A jewelry specialist at both Swank and Balfour, she understood the technical side of design as much as the emotional pull behind a perfect piece. Her work wasn’t just fashion—it was memory made wearable.

But her ties to the jewelry world ran even deeper. Cathy grew up alongside the heiress to the Guyot Brothers Findings Company, one of the industry’s leading manufacturers of intricate jewelry components. Her daughter—now known as Siren—was raised in Andrea Guyot’s house, where vintage jewelry wasn’t just admired… it was lived. This wasn’t a hobby. It was heritage.

Heirlooms & Origins

Our family's personal collection includes original 1970s Avon pieces with Massachusetts maker’s marks—timeless symbols of New England craftsmanship and matriarchal pride. These heirlooms remind us that jewelry has always been our family's chosen medium of magic, remembrance, and self-expression.

Nightshade & Co. honors that tradition with every piece we create or curate. From goth-glam chokers to steampunk brooches and celestial wax seal rings, our designs carry the echoes of Cathy’s legacy—elevated by Siren’s dark aesthetic, theatrical spirit, and unrelenting attention to quality.

We Don’t Just Sell Jewelry—We Tell Stories

Every collection in our shop is part of an unfolding tale. It might be a whispered spell from the Siren Grotto, a thrifted relic that found new life, or a handcrafted original that blends old-world elegance with modern mischief. Behind it all is the legacy of a woman who believed in the power of adornment to transform a day—or a destiny.

Though we no longer mark specific items with memorial tags, Cathy’s spirit is infused in the ethos of Nightshade & Co.. Her story lives on in the quality, in the detail, and in every customer who feels seen, powerful, or beautiful because of something they found here.

Thank you, Mumma, for teaching us that jewels are more than just decoration—they're devotion.

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