front&center Kathern Kinsey

Hot Springs collector finds business in dressing stars

By Elizabeth Pannell

LITTLE ROCK — Kathern Kinsey of Hot Springs is surrounded by hundreds of vintage dresses, rows of jewelry and shelves of purses every day - and she shares her treasures with Hollywood.

From the road, Kinsey’s warehouse seems like an ordinary two-story metal building. But inside it resembles more of a department store. The first floor is where Kinsey displays her most prized possessions, her jewelry. She has glass cases full of everything from cameos and bracelets made from human hair to pearls and turquoise.

Kinsey, who has been collecting since she was 12, has more than jewelry, though. She collects everything that can be worn on the human body. So among her collection she has cuff links, eyeglasses, cigarette cases, watches and hair accessories. Kinsey doesn’t just have a few pieces of each - she has hundreds of pieces of each, representing different time periods.

Upstairs is where Kinsey stores all her clothes, shoes and hats. Rows and rows of evening gowns, cocktail dresses and furs are crammed wall-to-wall with racks of shoes along the wall. Hats hanging on nails line the walls.

Her extensive collection is attractive to movie producers, and she rents her pieces to them. Her collection can be seen in movies such as The Last Samurai, Road to Perdition and A Walk to Remember.

Kinsey’s obsession with the old started when she was young. While growing up in rural Arkansas, shesaid she was lucky to get new soles on her shoes. But when she was 12, she got her first piece of costume jewelry.

“When I got my first piece of rhinestone jewelry, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. So, of course, I coveted everything after that,” she said.

In 1957 Kinsey’s parents moved her and her two brothers to California. While there she bought her first purse for $3.50. Kinsey said she still has that purse, and now it’s worth about $400. That’s how she got her start as a purse collector.

While in California Kinsey graduated from high school and attended University of California at Berkeley for a short time. She then made the move to Hot Springs and began various jobs, including being a real estate agent.

“In order to sell a particular house, the buyers wanted all the antique furniture that was inside. So to make the sell, I sold them the furniture for about $1,500,” Kinsey said. “Later I found out that one bed was worth $1,500. That’s when I knew I needed to get into that business.”

Since then, Kinsey said she has taught herself everything she knows about jewelry.

“There are no schools you can go to for this. Once you think you know everything there is to know, you learn more,” Kinsey said. “Now I am a quintessential expert on jewelry. People usually think of jewelry as just diamonds, but it’s so much more.”

Kinsey’s big break into the Hollywood scene camein 1998 while costume designers for The W hite River Kid found her shop. Costume Designer Carol Ramsey used several of Kinsey’s pieces for the film, and she began spreading the word about Kinsey’s collection.

“Carol told another designer Doug Hall, about me. And one thing led to another, and I was asked to work on Billy Bob Thornton’s movie, All the Pretty Horses,” Kinsey said.

Kinsey provided all the jewelry for the movie. She said her work on All the Pretty Horses led to her being sponsored in Hollywood resource books.

“To get into these books you have to be sponsored. Now when anyone in the industry looks in these books under v intage clothes or jewelr y, they will see my name,” Kinsey said. “They can contact me from anywhere in the United States.”

She explained that since she was put into the books she has worked on several movies.

“Once you’re in the loop and they know you have a place with all this stuff, then they start to talk. My pieces have been used in Road to Perdition, Mona Lisa Smile, The Last Samurai, A Walk to Remember, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Domestic Disturbance,” Kinsey said.

Now she is working on two films, one that is in production the other is in pre-production.

“Now I am working on My One and Only with Renee Zellweger, Kevin Bacon and Chris Noth. I am providing all the jewelry for the film - with the exception of a few pieces - and several hundred other pieces,” Kinsey said.

Kinsey said she is providing250 pairs of gloves, 100 cancan slips, 14 house dresses, 76 purses, 57 pairs of shoes, 29 cocktail dresses, 63 hats, 250 pairs of cuff links, 150 watches, hundreds of pieces of jewelry, 10 hair pieces and many other items for the film.

“It’s a wonderful privilege to work on this film. I love to watch a scene develop with just a piece of jewelry, a hat or a good pair of shoes,” she said.

Kinsey is also working on Crazy Heart with Robert Duvall, Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal. She said since the film is in pre-production, she is sending them samples of her collection, from old Levi’s to turquoise jewelry and belt buckles.

When Kinsey is not fitting Holly wood celebrities for a costume or talking about a script with a producer, Kinsey works as a volunteer for the Hot Springs Document ar y Film Institute. She has volunteered her time since 2003 as a member of the screening committee and as a performer for fundraisers.

“As part of the screening committee we screen all the entries for the Documentary Film Festival; last year there were 1,200 entries,” K insey said. “I love the institute, and I want to see them succeed.”

Kinsey is also producing the Institute’s first documentary, which will be released at the 2009 Documentary Film Festival.

Kinsey said she loves what she does and she is blessed to have found her place in Hollywood.

“You have to like what you are doing, otherwise you are going to be a miserable human being just working for a dollar,” Kinsey said. “Sometimes you just have an affinity for things; I have found my niche and I’m staying here.” - epannell@ arkansasonline.commatter of fact Birthdate: Sept. 24, 1942 Occupation: Antiquarian, specializing in antiques worn or

carried by an individual, using this knowledge to serve the film

and television industry’s costume designers to provide them

with accurate research and then furnish them with whatever

their needs are to costume the actors.

Family includes: Husband James Ray; daughter Elecesha

Enloe; granddaughter Ali Kinsey; grandson Ben Enloe; and

brothers Howard Counts and Andrew Counts.

Hobbies: My work is my love and my hobby. I like traveling;

I learned French so that the next time I go I can better

communicate. I raise chickens for fun; you might say they are

my Prozac.

My name comes from: My mother, Mary Elizabeth Counts.

Favorite Movie: The Color Purple Favorite actor: Diane Lane and Colin Firth, whom I am

currently working with.

I cannot live without: My freedom and independence, being

able to be artistically creative, pork chops and Arkansas

tomatoes.

My favorite memory is: Wading in a creek, swimming and

fishing with my brothers.

The world would be a better place if: We all did not take

ourselves so seriously; we could stop trying to control

others’ actions; be kind to each other always; do not be

envious; always leave them laughing, which would be on my

tombstone.

Favorite quote: “The future belongs to those who believe in the

beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt My goals for the future: Take as much information as I can

from my experiences with filmmakers; learn more about how

lighting affects fabrics and how they photograph; share my

knowledge with student interns and others who are interested;

live a healthier lifestyle; spend a lot of time with my friends and

family; go wading in a creek.

Tri-Lakes, Pages 124, 127 on 08/17/2008