Let’s talk about Tieke. It’s the place for you if you like wearing unique jewelry or pretty clothes (or for gentlemen whose wives, mothers, daughters and sisters do), if you like art or sculpture, or if you like creating your own jewelry and learning new ways of looking at color and working with silver or crystal or beads or even geranium leaves.
Open since March in the Kroger Shopping Center at 10721 Chapman Highway, Tieke is gearing up to owner Leslie Tieke’s full and considerable creative power. Says Tieke, whose use of her last name as the business name honors her father and family tradition, “We have beads but we’re not a bead store. We have clothing but we’re not a clothing store.” She means that they’re a great deal more.
Window shoppers are treated to a display of graceful, curving vases filled with flowers, the narrow necks used to drape a collection of beaded jewelry. A fair amount of coral dyed orange and used to make UT-themed jewelry will be sure to please Vols fans. Once inside, customers will find large, bright butterflies or dragonflies suspended from the ceiling, racks of clothing in a variety of sizes designed for a range of tastes, art pieces for the home, and a veritable mother lode of jewelry-making materials.
Shoppers can choose from a wide selection of handmade necklaces, earrings, rings, and pendants created by Leslie, her mother and sister, and her store manager, Meredith Clark.
“I’ve collected beads for many years,” Leslie said. “I love beads, and when you make a beautiful fine silver necklace, it’s natural that you want to string it with beads, so a lot of the beads in the store are from my own personal collection.” Behind the center island of the store, she has created a dazzling wall of goblets and glasses used to display thousands of beads of all shapes, colors, sizes, and designs. She explained that this allows a customer to pick up a goblet or glass and carry it to other sections of the display to see how they look against other materials or beads. “It’s prettier and more versatile than just putting them in flat square cases,” she said.
In addition to beads, Tieke now carries a good selection of popular Swarovski crystals, Czech glass, and a large variety of natural stones. Sometimes customers want a pendant but don’t want to string it on beads or metal, so Tieke has a large selection of hand-dyed, hand-stitched silk cords to choose from.
The clothes include a line called Profiles. Each piece is distinctive for its design of faces from different angles. “It’s all about comfort and an artsy feeling,” Tieke explained.
One can also enroll in one of Tieke’s classes. “We teach people how to make simple beaded things as well as the precious metal clay classes,” Tieke said. She has been teaching for quite some time. “I had taught at my home for about six years before I moved here (her present shop).”
Customer and former student Carrie Sams is planning to take more classes. “I took the precious metal clay class about three years ago,” Sams said. “I went to her house and spent all day. I was a beginner.” Sams ended up taking several newly created pieces home with her. “I made beads, a couple of charms, a pendant, and did some leaf work with a geranium leaf. I created them, and I learned to mold it (the precious metal clay), how to carve it and fire it, and different techniques and ways to work with it. It’s all fine silver, and it was a great class. We had a lot of fun.”
So, just what is precious metal clay? Tieke is enthusiastic about the materials she works with and explains in detail. “This process basically combines pottery and silversmithing. Precious metal clay is so amazing. It’s a new product from Mitsubishi Motors. It’s .999 pure fine silver. It’s called precious metal clay, but it’s not earthly clay,” Tieke said. “It’s actually micron-sized particles of fine silver mixed with micron-sized samples of plant fiber and water. The plant molecules keep the silver molecules separated, and it actually looks like silly putty. So you can coil it, roll it, shape it, etch it, carve it, paint it, and make all these amazingly creative pieces. Then, when you fire it at 800 degrees, the plant fiber burns away.”
“There are really three categories of jewelry,” Tieke said. “You have costume jewelry at one end, and fine jewelry at the other end. Now, in the middle, you have art jewelry. The materials are combined in artistic ways, and it’s unique. It’s one-of-a-kind jewelry, so you just don’t reproduce it. That’s what we’re about here – art jewelry.” Tieke explained.
Tieke is eminently qualified to teach her art to others. She is a senior teacher for a company based in Dallas, TX. “There are 27 of us (senior teachers) throughout the whole nation that teach a certain level – a Level 1 Certification Class,” Tieke said.
Tieke usually keeps copies of her class schedule available for customers. She will be teaching one Guild Certification Level 1 class per month, as well as smaller classes like Introduction to Precious Metals Clay and also basic beaded earrings, “so people will know what to do with beads,” she said. “I also teach enameling classes, with Japanese leaded enamels. Fine silver is so good to enamel on because it’s got that white reflective surface,” she explained. “You can also mix other things with the silver to give it a certain patina, and dichroic glass can be added in.”
Tieke is full of ideas to make her shop a place for everyone. In the spring she plans to make a lot of bridal items and show brides and bridesmaids how to design and create their own accessories.
Why did Tieke put her shop in Seymour instead of a more visible or trendy place like West Knoxville? “I’ve lived in Seymour for 17 years,” Tieke said. “I’ve always had to drive elsewhere to get the things I need, because nothing was available locally. I’m hoping that the community will embrace us once they find out we’re here and what we can do for them.”
“I’d be like a duck out of water if I didn’t do this,” Tieke said of her work. It’s obvious she is passionate about her art and her creative designs. So, whether you are simply looking to browse and shop for interesting and beautiful things or you have a creative urge to learn to do it for yourself, the Tieke shop has something for you.

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