The business of art.

By Rosemary Winters, The Salt Lake Tribune Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jan. 31--When Cameron Diaz walked onto the stage at the 2003 Academy Awards, Kate Holland gasped. Around Diaz's neck hung one of Holland's designs, a $150 chrysophase necklace, accenting her black Prada gown.

Holland, working as a production assistant at the show, ran into an office to call her parents in Salt Lake City. They had already noticed and shared some cries of excitement.

"People wear quarter-of-a-million-dollar jewelry to the Oscars," Holland says. "Harry Winston, Fred Layton . . . They can wear any [designer] they want, so it was huge."

Holland, who studied art at the University of Utah, started her jewelry business, Kate Holland Design, in 2002. Her simple, elegant designs have been worn by celebrity trendsetters such as Diaz, Heather Graham and Jennifer Garner. They have appeared in People magazine, In Style, US Weekly and on the cover of Time Out New York.

Her necklaces, earrings and bracelets stand apart from typical red-carpet accessories that attract attention with blinding sparkle. Instead of diamonds, Holland uses hand-cut precious and semiprecious stones in brilliant colors, usually hung individually on a thin gold or silver chain. She also works with shells, vintage pendants, silk cords and leather. The simplicity of her designs showcases the natural beauty of the materials she works with. Every piece is unique.

"People can see the quality, and they are willing to pay for it," says Janie Franks, manager of Lolabella, a women's clothing boutique in Salt Lake City. Franks says the jewelry, which is usually priced between $80 and $150, is more expensive than other jewelry the store carries, but consistently sells out.