Fit for a first lady ‘Christmas Romeo’ sends Obama something special

Published 11:04 pm Friday, December 23, 2011

Around Christmas three years ago, Fred Camfield walked into Art and Soul downtown with a list of women for whom he wanted to buy necklaces.

As store owner Regina Gailani scanned the list, Camfield said, “Oh yeah, and I need something remarkable for Michelle Obama, too.”

This year, Camfield and Gailani are working on their third necklace to be sent to the White House as a Christmas present for the first lady.

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“Michelle Obama always wears jewelry by such-and-such designer to events,” Camfield said. “I was watching the news one day and I thought, ‘Why not have a designer from Vicksburg?’”

Camfield, a 75-year-old Corps of Engineers retiree, designs the necklaces, and Gailani puts them together.

“He’ll come in with a color and a concept, and we start working,” Gailani said.

The necklaces usually take about a week to make, but sometimes longer depending on how soon they match Camfield’s vision.

“They have to pass the Fred test,” Gailani laughed.

The necklace to be sent this year is 18 inches long and made of smoky quartz, turquoise teardrops and Swarovski crystals. The gift is worth a bit more than $25, and it is something that can be worn year-round, Camfield said.

Camfield said he got interested in jewelry design when he retired from the Corps 15 years ago. After he had shoulder surgery in 2009, he got to work designing necklaces for his nurses and physical therapists.

“I was making a lot of necklaces for people at Good Samaritan because they took care of me,” Camfield said. “That’s when I saw the first lady on TV and decided to make her one.”

“These typically aren’t expensive gifts, but they’re nice because they’re local,” Camfield said.

Last year, Camfield said, he received a thank-you note from the White House about a month after Christmas.

“It was a nice acknowledgement, so I know they got it,” he said. “We just need to keep promoting Vicksburg.”

Camfield and Gailani plan to continue making the necklaces each year at Christmas, as long as the first lady is a person they like.

“She’s a classy lady and a bright woman,” Gailani said. “Who could not be proud of having her as our first lady?”

Gailani added that though she was surprised when Camfield approached her with the idea of sending a gift to the White House, she’s grown to love the idea.

“I was really excited, and it’s just a cool thing,’ Gailani said. “Fred is like a Christmas Romeo with all these necklaces.”