By Stephanie Brubaker

You might have heard of Utahn-turned-New Yorker Kelsey Nixon. Perhaps you saw her on one of two Food Network Shows: “Next Food Network Star” or “By the Book & Off the Hook.” (For the record, she’s a book girl.) And if you’re lucky, maybe you’ve met her. She’s the likable type—her positive, energetic and ambitious nature mixed with a true blue “down home” attitude made her the fan favorite on “The Next Food Network Star.”

But if you’re really lucky, you might have had a bite of her home cookin’. Kelsey pursued her love of food at an age when most of use were focusing on what to wear to prom. When she began her education at Brigham Young University, this go-getter thoughtfully went about making her dreams come true. As a sophomore, she created a college cooking show called “Kelsey’s Kitchen” (now the name of her blog, www.kelseyskitchen.blogspot.com). From there, she interned with Martha Stewart Living with “Everyday Food” and, of course, NBC’s “Martha.” She also stayed busy working as a production assistant on Sandra Lee’s “Semi-Homemade Cooking,” where she she prepped food and ironed cloth napkins on the beach. Yep, on the beach.

After wrapping up her degree in Broadcast Journalism and many internships, Kelsey jumped to the West Coast and completed culinary school in Los Angeles. She also squeezed in a well-styled wedding to her college sweetheart and a fine cooking certificate from the prestigious French Culinary Institute of New York. This Utah gal is also the Pyrex Representative, and we’d like to congratulate her on her recipe recently published in none other than Bon Appetit.

If you can catch up with this lil’ whirlwind, be sure to say hi. She’s the talkin’ kind.

Here’s the rest from this Utah lady:

Name: Kelsey Nixon Egan

Occupation: Cooking Personality and Recipe Development

When I grow up, I want to be: Someone who inspires people in the kitchen, a food writer and a really great mom

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: Being surrounded by a tight-knit family

If/when I have 24 hours in Utah, I always:

• See my family and stay up way too late talking about nonsense
• Admire the mountains
• Eat at a local favorite (Pizzeria 712, Communal, Hires Big H, Tin Angel, Grappa)
• Work … unfortunately

Utah has the best: People

Now I live in: New York City

New York City has the best: Restaurants and shopping

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: At dinner with my husband, someplace charming

Five hearts:

• My husband
• Vanilla bean paste
• Dishes (preferably from Fishs Eddy)
• Eating really great, simple food
• Chocolate-covered cinnamon bears

Five hates:

• Cream cheese
• Being either too busy or too bored
• Rent
• Embarrassing moments
• Messes

I can’t live without my: iPhone

The last party I went to was: A launch party from Food2.com

And I wore: A snazzy little Betsey Johnson shrug with jeans and a pretty yellow blouse. A flowery something was pinned in my hair.

Favorite product featured on your site: Vanilla bean paste

Favorite product on earth: Fresh, old-fashioned, unsalted, straight-from-the-churn butter

What do you get when you put a perpetual student, recreational aide, waitress, artist, nanny, sandwich-maker, college art instructor and library worker together? Before you get too creative, we’ll tell you. You would get Utah printmaker Eva Jorgensen, the undoubtedly well-rounded mastermind behind uber loved (and deserving) Sycamore Steet Press.

The now-Heber-based letterpress studio is known foremost in the stationery and blogging communities for bringing together true artistic style and cheeky expressions, but also for taking colorful and inventive illustrations to the press—giving any and all access to a really cool print or two from any number of artists.

Our girl Eva, who received a BFA from Brigham Young University and an MFA from the University of Utah, didn’t uncover her love (or talent) for letterpress until she gave Frosty Darling’s stationery rack a gander and thought to herself, “I could do that.”

And how! She and husband Kirk head up Sycamore Street with help from Stephanie Ford, Kristin Mills, Amy Shaffer, Natasha Wheeler and a slew of guest designers. If you want a full run of the gamut, try a membership with the Sycamore Club. Otherwise, get started at her site, Etsy shop, or blog.

Welcome back the land of the Best Snow on Earth, Eva! And now YHO gets the skinny….

Name: Eva Jorgensen

Occupation: Owner/Designer/Printer for an independent letterpress studio

When I grow up, I want to be: What I am now. Only I’d like to add mother, photographer and heirloom gardener to the list.

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: Family and friends

If/when I have 24 hours in Utah, I always:

• Float down the Provo River
• Go to the old school photobooth at Kmart in Orem
• Shop at D.I., Savers or Thriftown
• Check out the zine collection and art exhibit at the SLC Main Library
• Eat dinner at Mazza in SLC, followed by a shake at Dairy Keen in Heber
• See Ok Ikumi and The Boy Who Could Fly

Utah has the best: MLS soccer team, Real Salt Lake!

Now I live in: Heber, Utah

Heber has the best: Clear blue skies

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: A sandy beach in the Greek Isles

Five hearts:

• Junky Heirloom (the owners/designers Amy and Kristin also design the “Lark” line for Sycamore Street Press)
• Salty caramel ice cream from Jeni’s
• The Simply Radiant blog (Stephanie also designs the “Pop” line for Sycamore Street Press)
• The Clumsy Bird Flickr photostream
• The view of Timp from our studio windows

Five hates:

• Getting out of bed
• Strawberry milk
• Humid summers/humid winters
• Arguing over politics
• The idea of making phone calls (once I’m actually on the phone, I’m alright)

I can’t live without my: To do list

The last party I went to was: Our friends’ wedding at the Columbus Athletic Club

And I wore: A 1950′s-style dress with a mess of pearls and chains hanging from my neck

Favorite product on your site: Kirk’s “Bon Appetit” print for the Sycamore Club

Favorite product on earth: Swedish Hasbeen’s Jodhpur boots

She’s the girl behind the undershirt of undershirts: the one that spun out a handful of spin-offs, opened fashionable doors to many would-be stylish women in Utah (and around the world), and, in turn, morphed many a stay-at-home mom into a business woman in her own right.

That’s correct, today we’re catching up with Chelsea Rippy of Shade Clothing—the Utah gal and BYU grad who had enough with compromising personal style for staying covered up, and with the help of her trusty sewing machine, set out to do something about it. From one simple under tee, Shade Clothing has grown into a full collection of soft jersey pieces and layering basics including a maternity line and cozy dresses, as well as stylish blouses and swim essentials. To say her idea was genius is an understatement. Rather, we think she’s the genius … with the undershirt. And she’s got an 801 area code, to boot.

Here’s a bit more from Shade Clothing’s Chelsea Rippy:

Name: Chelsea Stenson Rippy

Occupation: Founder and CEO of Shade Clothing

When I grow up, I want to be: What I am

Utah has the best: Mountains

Now I live in: American Fork, Utah

American Fork has the best: People

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: On a family vacation

Five hearts:

• Shade
• Sushi
• Boots
• Balance
• Dance

Five hates:

• Flies
• Pessimists
• Wrinkles
• Science Fiction
• Frills

I can’t live without my: Cardigans

The last party I went to was: A lot of laughs

And I wore: A shade tank and cardigan, scarf, skinnies and boots

Favorite product on your site: Besides the Cap-Sleeve Tee, it’s Shade’s Varsity Cardigan

Favorite product on earth: Shade’s Cap-Sleeve Under Tee

A creative outlet can be as simple as a potting a flower or as complicated as planning a perennial garden. For one-time corporate worker Chelsea Fuss, a much-needed outlet came in blog form—though she has a knack for flower-arranging too. “I’m always trying to share things I come across with my family and friends. It’s a lot easier to collect it all in this format and share it with the world,” she says.

This floral designer/prop stylist/blogger extraordinaire is the brains (and beauty) behind Portland-based design blog Frolic!, a daily stop for many YHO staffers and readers too, no doubt, who appreciate Chelsea’s site for its consistent display of the beautiful, stylish and aesthetically inspirational. From fashion to raw photography, Chelsea has a defined skill for bringing together and creating things that are, to put it simply, really nice to look at.

A former Provo dweller who received her BA in Art History and Curatorial Studies at Brigham Young University, Chelsea is yet another talent with connections to Utah. She’s worked in apparel buying and inventory management since graduation, but these days, she stays busy as a freelance floral designer for shops like Ink & Peat and Quince, a prop stylist for photographers, and maintaining her blog, of course. Lucky for us.

Here’s a little more from Chelsea:

Name: Chelsea Fuss

Occupation: Blogger, floral designer and prop stylist

When I grow up, I want to be: A flower farmer

The best thing about being in Utah is: The sun! It seems to shine year-round, even if it’s snowing.

If I have 24 hours in Utah, I always: Walk/hike/snowshoe in Aspen Grove.

Utah has the best: Lilacs

Now I live in: Portland, Oregon

Oregon has the best: Gourmet grocery stores

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: On an island … any island.

Five hearts:

• Sunshine
• Beaches
• Macaroni and cheese
• David Sedaris
• A clean house

Five hates:

• Being cold
• Pollution
• Dirty dishes
• Whispering
• Cubicles

I can’t live without my: Burt’s Bees Lip Balm

The last party I went to was: A food/movie party based around the film “Rear Window.”

And I wore: My favorite leather boots that have a seam up the center, button tab trousers, American Apparel tee with a Gap smock over it and a scarf

Favorite product on your site: Caillou boats

Favorite product on earth: Diptyque candles

Everyone, meet Kelly McCaleb. Kelly, meet everyone.

Kelly leads a “happy little life” right here in Utah, and she’s one of our favorite crafty bloggers and Etsy divas. She calls herself a “crafty mama” by occupation, but we know she’s so much more: blogger, photographer-in-the-making, designer, seamstress and first-rate scrapbooker, to name a few. Oh yes, and she’s also a mom with degrees in psychology and health education from “the BY.”

Kelly is a designer for Poppy Ink, an artful memory-keeping company, and also does guest work for Li’l Davis. Her paper crafts have been featured in the spreads of such mags as Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbook Trends, Cards and Paper Crafts. You can see a handful of her creations by following this link.

But like we said, paper isn’t the only thing that Kelly can give a healthy dose of makeover to. Her creating-and-crafting hobby is practically lifelong, as she hit up anyone and everyone she knew for lessons in their trade—including the ol’ ladies in her neighborhood. (Who better to learn needlework from?) She started sewing in high school because she wanted to make her own unique clothing, and kept up the hobby, becoming most involved when she became pregnant with her daughter. “I wanted to create unique and simple things for her that I couldn’t find in the stores … not for the right price, anyway,” she says.

We’re big fans of these things she’s crafted up along the way:

• This twee “Quiet Book”
• This handmade smock
• This bird-embellished bag
• These wool “Little Man” booties

Kelly started whipping up crib sets, quilts and dresses for her daughter, and soon enough, the requests started rolling in. As you can see, Kelly and Etsy were a natural fit. At her store, KM Craft, you can pick up notions like quilting kits, mini-album kits made from vintage books, retro dress patterns and trimmings, fabric stacks and more, with Kelly as your personal shopper and project instructor.

You can see more of what this Californian-turned-Utahn is up to at her blog, “My Happy Little Life.” Kelly aims to inspire other women to be creative. “I am an advocate for living simply, re-using and surrounding yourself in beauty,” she says. Here’s a little more from this new-age Martha:

Name: Kelly McCaleb

Occupation: Crafty Mama

When I grow up, I want to be:A homeowner!

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: I didn’t grow up here, but I’m happy to have a safe, family-friendly community to raise my children in.

If/When I have 24 hours in Utah, I always:

Eat at Cafe Rio

Lay in the wave pool at Seven Peaks

Hit the thrift stores

Utah has the best: Attitude about children and families.

Now I live in: Highland, Utah

Highland has the best: Garage sales!

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be:Paris! London! Tahiti! Thailand! Anywhere exciting!

Five hearts:

A clean house Fabric Dancing

A great book and sun bathe

Food, movies, mags, life!

Five hates:

Bad drivers (sorry Utah, you have a lot o them)

Anything/anyone artificial

Senator Palpatine/the “Dark Side” in general

Animal hair

Premenstrual syndrome

I can’t live without my: Magazine subscriptions (Martha Stewart Living, Domino, Blueprint, Everyday Food, to name a few).

The last party I went to was: My daughter’s 4th birthday!

And I wore: A skirt, as per usual.

Favorite product on your site: Most things I make are one-of-a-kind, so they come and go quickly. But I keep this Wall Hanging Kit around for people who want to make something fun on their own. (It comes with frames and pattern, unfinished.) I love it.

Favorite product on earth: Fabric designed by Denyse Schmidt. Also called “Free Spirit Fabrics.”

{Doorprize!} Kelly would like to gift one Your Heart Out reader with a $30 gift certificate to her Etsy store. We recommend her personalized Wall Hanging Kit or one of her vintage Mini Album Paper Crafting Kits, but you can see what else is in store right here. To win, leave just one comment on this post by 10 p.m. on Monday, September 24.

Thanks Kelly!

Writer Olivia Birdsall (yes, that’s her real name) has lived in such exotic and not-so-exotic places as Idaho, Israel, Ecuador, London, and California—The O.C., no less. Though her current address sports a Manhattan zip code, she still calls Salt Lake City home.

Having also visited such faraway lands as Romania, Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru, and Jordan, to name a few, it’s no wonder that storytelling comes naturally to this girl. She also credits her abilities to her chatty family. “The best way to get someone’s attention is to have a good story to tell,” she says.

Her latest story, “Notes on a Near-Life Experience,” caught not only ours, but also the attention of the Delacorte Press, which awarded Olivia the winner of its Contest for a First Young Adult Novel. “Notes” started out as a project during Olivia’s last year at BYU. She put her notes away for a year, working full-time and applying to graduate programs, then finished the novel off while she obtained an MFA in creative writing from New York University.

Though she currently writes in the young adult vein, Olivia doesn’t necessarily call herself a YA author. “I wanted to be true to what teenagers know and think as their lives unfold, which is what YA lit does,” she says. “I just try to be true to the story, characters, and perspective I envision and sometimes that makes a book a young adult book.” Funny and well-written, that explains why this coming-of-age story appeals to a larger audience, even two 20-somethings like the pair of us.

Olivia currently has two new novels in the works—one adult, one young adult. Though Holden Caulfield remains a favorite character because “he can be both brutal and sensitive in the way he approaches the world,” Olivia finds that she is most inspired by relationships between individuals rather than the individuals themselves. “I love the relationships between the characters in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ where the whole range of human emotion and its various shapes and consequences are laid out so beautifully and hopefully,” she says. “Complicated, human, funny, heartbreaking moments/interactions/relationships are the most intriguing things in the world to me.” Come to think of it, that’s exactly why we were intrigued by her work.

You can see more of Olivia’s “notes” on her blog; we especially like her argument for choosing skirts over pants. Here’s a little behind-the-scenes on one gal who can describe relationships with both beauty and hope, and who can also give us a good laugh when we need it. She also gives great tips on where to pick up local treats.

Name: Olivia Birdsall

Occupation: Writer/Teacher at NYU

When I grow up, I want to be: Lorrie Moore, or Louise Plummer, or Tina Turner.

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: The easy access to hiking, camping and outdoor adventure. I loved spending high school spring breaks camping with my friends in Moab, or ditching school and driving up to Park City.

If/when I have 24 hours in Utah, I always:

• Eat at Cafe Rio, The Dodo or Ruth’s Diner
• Shop for shoes at Nordstrom Rack
• Check out what movies are playing at the Broadway
• Buzz through the sale racks at the Gateway
• Take a drive/hike in the mountains with my family
• Download my siblings’ latest music
• Run/wander at Liberty Park
• Do a short run up Emigration Canyon
• Buy some treats at Mrs. Backer’s (little lemon cakes), See’s (Bordeaux bars and P-nut Crunches), or the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (Apple Pie caramel apple)

Utah has the best: Canyons. And public libraries. And families.

Now I live in: Manhattan.

Manhattan has the best: Art scene (and selection of fine baked goods … and shopping.)

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: On a little beach in Cuba called Maria la Gorda, or in a little town in Mallorca called Arta, or in a little town in North Carolina called Big Sandy Mush.

Five hearts:

• Family
• Dresses and skirts
• Treats
• Books
• Music

Five hates:

• Seeing people argue
• Bad smells
• People who take advantage of other people (I would say “big business” but that seems too general)
• Being sick
• Bad art (including bad music, bad writing, and bad visual art) that sells well.

I can’t live without my: Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer (with SPF!)

The last party I went to was: Lane and Brit’s engagement party.

And I wore: A gray rayon kinda-viscose-y dress and flip flops

Favorite product on earth: Wow. I don’t know … I’m sort of on the same page as Lloyd Dobler when it comes to the idea of products (which is NOT to say I don’t love to shop….) Can it be my family? If not, then I’d have to say these great roller ball pens from Muji; they’re like Gelly Roll pens, only they don’t get clogged up like Gelly Rolls do.

{Doorprize!} Olivia and her friend and mentor, Louise Plummer, will be reading and signing books at the Gateway’s Barnes and Noble on Wednesday, August 15 at 7 p.m. But one Your Heart Out reader will win a free copy of “Notes on a Near-Life Experience,” with a personal signing from Ms. Birdsall, herself. Wanna win? Just leave a comment on this post by 10 p.m. on Monday, August 13. This is one little read you don’t want to miss out on.

What do celebrity photographer Matthew Jordan Smith, well-known stylist Susie Theodorou and the cover of Saveur magazine have in common? Each have featured the work of local gal Nicole Hill.

Nicole is a freelance and commercial photographer based in Utah County. There’s no question that this girl knows what she’s doing when it comes to the camera lens. And her sharp sense of style and warm personal charisma have a way of making themselves present in the images she captures—whether of a wedding or watercress.

A budding talent, Nicole has already taken noteworthy career strides and snapped handfuls of great images. But what we love about this Utah girl is her go-getter attitude and her knack for choosing fun and eclectic vehicles for realizing her dreams: ne’er afraid to make a capricious pit-stop or follow leads from Mr. Opportunity.

Her romance with the camera started when Nicole’s (smart) parents gave her a Canon Rebel G for her birthday in 7th grade. By the time her first year of high school rolled around, she ended up co-teaching her school’s photography class and shooting her first weddings.

After graduating a year early from high school, Nicole headed to the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. When she realized she was more interested in capturing food than people, she traded the sunshine for the city and headed to culinary school in New York. “I thought that learning more about food couldn’t hurt,” she says.

While in the Big Apple, she interned with beauty and celebrity photographer Matthew Jordan Smith, and assisted food stylist Susie Theodorou for projects in Real Simple, House & Garden, and Gourmet. Last year’s June issue had a steak she grilled on the cover. We like a girl who’s good on the barbi.

After returning to Brooks to receive her bachelor’s degree, Nicole traded coasts again and moved to Boston to intern with TV’s “America’s Test Kitchen” and Cook’s Illustrated, where she worked directly with such heavy hitters as celebrity chef Julia Collin Davison. Then it was back to New York for a quick internship with Saveur magazine, where she styled a cover shot, and assisted with food styling for Real Simple and Quick & Simple.

Nicole planned a trip home to Utah, just for the summer, but ended up getting happily hung-up on a position as photo editor and photographer with a local stock photography company called Rubberball Productions, where she’s been for a year. We daresay they’re happy to have her. And so are we.

Check out Nicole’s work at:

• Nicole Hill Photo
• Getty Images
• Rubberball Productions (perform an “advanced search,” then “search by photographer”)

Nicole has a fun-and-stylish blog playfully titled A Little Sussy, a great daily read. A new, all-cooking blog called Nicole Cooks is currently in the works. (We know the food featured there is gonna look fabulous.) In her spare time, Nicole also designs websites. But here’s a chance to get a little more info than the blog might provide:

Name: Nicole Hill

Occupation: Photo Editor/Photographer

When I grow up, I want to be: A teacher, artist and mother

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: Four seasons! I loved my spring birthday, summers skiing at Lake Powell, horsing around in the fall and winters skiing in Deer Valley.

If/when I have 24 hours in Utah, I always:

1. Have “Sundee” dinner on the back porch with family and friends.

2. Eat at Cafe Rio

3. Eat homemade frozen yogurt

4. Talk (or cry) to my sisters and parents on their bed.

5. Play my piano

Utah has the best: Parking lots! They’re huge!

Now I live in: Orem; just bought a home!

Five hearts:

• Homemade froyo
• Fresh herbs
• Eating on the back deck
• Pilates
• Rook

Five hates:

• Mortgage payments
• Mean people
• Running
• Early mornings
• Shopping on an empty stomach

I can’t live without my: Computer

The last party I went to was: Hmm … I can’t even remember one. How sad. I’m not cool.

Favorite product on your blog: I’m still obsessed with the Me & Ro diamond ring I found years ago that was just featured in Martha Stewart Weddings.

Favorite product on earth: Dead Sea Salt eye cream

Everyone, meet Abby. Abby, meet everyone.

We’re thrilled to introduce Abby Clawson Low, the mastermind behind many of the fun and forward-thinking products (not to mention the clever packaging) that give the Kate Spade and Jack Spade brands their classy-gets-hip trademark looks.

As Senior Art Director of Kate Spade, Abby designed handbags, ad campaigns—even shoes—and these cool things, too:

• The “Things We Love” section with its MeBox, vintage scarves, HumanClock and everything else a style-conscious urbanite should know about, featured Behind the Curtain at Kate Spade.com. (Also check out “Arguments for Looking at Books Instead of Reading Them.”)
• Cute/quirky invitations featuring pop images and kitschy sayings like this and this: front/back (note the vintage stamps; Abby’s a collector).
• This favorite colorful and inventive collaged agenda book that uses pictures of popsicles, old photos, love notes and garrish rings to recreate the character of a month or season.

Before becoming the diva of design at Kate Spade, Abby worked briefly as Senior Art Director for Martha Stewart Living, and before that, just outta school, Abby designed for a boutique design studio in SoHo called Design MW, where she also interned the summer between her junior and senior years in college. Here, she worked on projects for Chronicle Books and Takashimaya New York, as well as on these (recognizable) things:

• The West Elm logo
• WilsonWenzel.com
• This promo for Domtar Paper

But a few years before all of this, Abby was a little babe born in LDS Hospital who called the Avenues home until she was nine years old, when her family moved to the Bay Area. She returned to Utah to attend BYU for five years, where she received a B.F.A. in Graphic Design.

Just two weeks ago, after three years of heading up creative at Kate Spade, and “working with a wonderful in-house design team,” Abby decided to strike out and started her own design studio. Check out her website here. You can also browse her new blog here.

Three cheers for this once-local girl who’s made it in the big city, but remains down to earth. We knew we liked Abby as soon as she referenced our local favorite “chocolate chocolate” donut at 7-Eleven. We can’t wait to see what she rolls out next.

{Here’s the inside scoop:}

Name: Abby Clawson Low

Occupation: Designer/Art Director

When I grow up, I want to be: A teacher and a mother.

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: going to the Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah with my dad and siblings on Saturdays to look at the dinosaurs and bones.

If/when I have 24 hours in Utah, I always:

1. Go to 7-Eleven to get one of those purple-y chocolate cake donuts that only exist in Utah.

2. Look for great old records at Randy’s Records (my Grandma Clawson’s favorite music store).

3. Pierpont Avenue (great midcentury furniture).

4. Lamb’s Diner (great breakfast/brunch place with a lot of history.

5. Deseret Industries (wish we had these in NYC).

6. Visit all of my family (could take a week or more).

7. Cutlers for their amazing sugar cookies (or cookie dough).

Utah has the best: Thrift stores, hands down.

Now I live in: Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York (a block from lovely Prospect Park).

Brooklyn has the best: Architecture.

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: In Paris, near the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Five hearts:

• Google images
• A.P.C.
• Forever 21
• Vintage “Paris Review” covers from the ’60s and ’70s
• Shake Shack in Madison Square Park

Five hates:

• Humidity
• Loud phone talkers
• Being far from my family
• Eating on the run
• Blisters

I cannot live without my: Google Analytics!

The last party I went to was: Publicolor’s 10th Anniversary Stir, Splatter + Roll Benefit

And I wore: A (very large) white Tyvek jumpsuit (provided to all attendees for painting) over

• Kate Spade chocolate patent leather Mary Jane heels
• Tan slacks
• Vintage pink blouse with red trim and white polka dots

My favorite project I’ve ever worked on is: Kate Spade ad campaign (See here and here, latest coming out this fall in Vogue and other fashion magazines).

My favorite product I designed is: Kate Spade Clear Umbrella

My favorite product on earth is: Burt’s Beeswax lip balm with its peppermint scent. (This is a hard one as I have many “favorite products on earth.”)

Everyone, meet Caroline Drake. Caroline, meet everyone.

She’s the gal behind the oh-so-pretty, light, airy and colorful Armelle Jewelry you might have seen pop up the blogosphere as of late. But did you know that she grew up in Orem? Well, now you do.

Caroline started making jewelry in high school. She kept up the habit in college (she studied International Business and French at BYU) but started pedaling around her products when she needed to find a way to pay for her jewelry-concocting addiction. Since then, her elegant earrings and necklaces have graced places like Salt Lake’s Koo de Ker and JMR, but have also been placed behind the glass in boutiques in Iowa and New York—no doubt brightening up the ensembles of country and city gals, alike.

Paris was several times over one of Caroline’s summer vacation spots (lucky gal!) and she still considers it and its off-the-hook fashion scene to be one of her strongest inspirations. “There are endless possibilities for inspiration in Paris,” she writes. “You basically just have to look out the window.”

Amen to that, sister.

A mom of just six weeks, Caroline recently quit her day job as a business analyst (and jewelry designer, of course) to become a full time mom/small business owner. Let’s give her some love!

Name: Caroline Armelle Drake

Occupation: Mom/small business owner

When I grow up I want to be: happy with all aspects of life.

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: being able to enjoy the beautiful outdoors Utah has to offer.

If/when I have 24 hours in Utah, I always: eat at Cafe Rio and Bombay House, pay a visit to my hair stylist Tyson Daniel (currently on the Bravo show “Shear Genius”), and visit my family and friends.

Utah has the best: outdoor activities! I love to ski. I used to teach kids to ski at Deer Valley while I was in college.

Now I live in: Utah! I just moved back after living in Iowa for three years.

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: Paris!

Five hearts:

• family
• summer barbecues
• Salt Lake’s new IKEA!
• skiing
• shopping

Five hates:

• mean people
• traffic
• the word “moist”
• working at a desk job
• waiting for people who are late

I can’t live without my:

• husband and son
• lip gloss, specifically Mac “Lip Glass” (I’d seriously die without it)
• cell phone (though I hardly answer it)
• car
• air conditioning

The last party I went to was: My niece’s seventh birthday party. There were 22 kids there; it was a mad house! But, fun to watch them take hits at the rainbow pinata.

And I wore: My trusty Seven jeans, a new top I picked up at the new Forever 21 at the Gateway and some cute wood platform shoes my mom bought me six-plus years ago that I wouldn’t wear back then, but now they’re back in style and I’ve been wearing them like crazy.

Favorite product on your site: I’m really into my “Glider” earrings right now, in all colors. They have been really fun to make and wear!

Favorite product on earth: My Shu Uemura eyelash curler. Gotta have it when you have half-Asian eyelashes.

Read more about Caroline’s hearts, hates and inspirations on her blog. And don’t forget the website. (Have you seen all those cute, colorful jewels?)

We are continually stunned and starry-eyed at the success and brilliance of ladies and gents with Utah roots across the country. As such, we thought it was high time to give each a spotlight. Right here on Your Heart Out. Because, let’s face it, we all want to be friends with a Renaissance child or two.

We’re kicking it off with the darling gal behind Darlybird.com–if you haven’t check out this uber-cute and affordable online shop yet, you must. Rachel Schutz, of Provo stock, is a BYU grad with a degree in English Secondary Education. She taught at Springville Junior High and Vacaville High Schools before starting Darlybird.

“When the idea for Darlybird formulated, I was at home with a two-and-a-half year-old and two-month-old baby,” says Rachel. “It grew out of a certain restlessness with my life that I was feeling.” Rachel also says “she always wanted to give the perfect gift,” but couldn’t find one place that had it all. “So I decided to make it myself,” she says. And we should all give her a big hug for doing so.

Now’s your chance to get to know Rachel:

Name: Rachel Schutz

Occupation: Mom, small business owner

When I grow up, I want to be: content.

The best thing about growing up in Utah was: making the most phenomenal friends on the planet. And Allred’s peaches and thunderstorms.

Utah has the best: autumns

Now I live in: Sacramento

Sacramento has the best: springs!

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be: Florence, Italy

Five hearts:

• family
• baked goods
• neighbors
• Utah summer nights
• bounty from my garden

Five hates:

• lard
• war
• jealousy
• need for money
• calling companies when they’ve made mistakes on my accounts

I can’t live without my:

• air conditioner
• Vintage Lindy Earrings
• family
• lip gloss
• ponytail holders

The last party I went to was: Cinco de Mayo at my house

And I wore: a crazy blouse that is basically made up of layers of red lace ruffles with a really cute skirt. I got the blouse at a thrift store, and I actually think it was part of a square-dancing getup.

My favorite product on my site is: everything; they’re all my favorite (with a few lapses of judgment here and there). But I couldn’t live without my Vintage Lindy Earrings so I guess that might be my current fave.

My favorite product on earth is: nothing; I’m not a loyal product person. I change scents, deodorants, lipstick colors, hair products and eyeshadows every day.

Read more the girl behind Darlybird at her blog. She offers great recipes, too. And naturally, don’t forget to visit the shop.