Semplicé Designs: Handmade Jewelry Born from Music and Stone
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Time to read 3 min
Where Music Meets Metal
Some of the best discoveries at Round Top aren't antiques at all. They're the makers who show up with something so personal, so rooted in craft and story, that the piece you walk away with feels less like a purchase and more like a connection.
That's exactly what happens when you find Semplicé Designs.
Mackenzie Palladino is the one-woman force behind the brand, a self-taught metalsmith based in East Nashville who creates handmade jewelry from hand-selected stones, leather, suede, gold, and vintage elements. Her signature piece is the bolo tie, and if you've seen one, you already know. They're impossible to miss and even harder to forget.
From the Blue Ridge to Nashville
Mackenzie's story starts in Raleigh, North Carolina. She studied at East Carolina University, where she enrolled in the school's metalsmithing program and discovered a passion she didn't see coming. After transferring to Appalachian State in Boone, she spent years honing her craft in the Blue Ridge Mountains, drawing inspiration from the landscape, live music, and the creative community around her.
She launched Semplicé Designs on New Year's Day 2018. The name, pronounced "sim-plee-chay," means "simple" in Italian. But there's nothing simple about the work.
Every piece is one of one. Hand-drawn, custom cut, and set with stones Mackenzie sources while traveling. The backs of her bolo ties are engraved with song lyrics, dedications, or personal messages, a detail that turns each piece into something deeply meaningful for the person wearing it.
She built her early following vending at music festivals, setting up shop on Dead & Company lots and connecting with the kind of people who appreciate a piece of jewelry that tells a story. That world eventually led her to Nashville, where she moved in 2021 and set up a home studio in East Nashville.
The Stages Keep Getting Bigger
Mackenzie's work has a way of traveling. One artist wears a piece on stage, another spots it, asks about it, and the next thing you know, her jewelry is showing up on some of the biggest platforms in country music.
Her bolo ties and jewelry have been worn by Ella Langley, Lainey Wilson, Wynonna Judd, Tyler Childers, and Billy Strings. Bob Weir has worn a custom Semplicé piece on stage twice. CMT selected Mackenzie to create custom gifts for performers at the CMT Awards ceremony in Austin.
Tyler Childers was the first well-known musician to purchase one of her pieces, at Merlefest in 2019. Since then, the list has only grown, spanning national tours, album shoots, Grand Ole Opry debuts, red carpet moments, and editorial features.
Most recently, country singer Kaitlin Butts wore a custom Semplicé necklace in Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" music video. The video, which dropped in April 2026, features an all-star cast including Luke Grimes, Miranda Lambert, and Ava Phillippe, and the song spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Not bad for a piece of handmade jewelry born in a home studio.
What You'll Find at the Table
Semplicé isn't just bolo ties, though they're the crown jewel. Mackenzie also creates chokers, necklaces, earrings, rings, boot jewelry, and hat bands, all crafted with the same attention to detail and storytelling that defines the brand.
Materials range from turquoise and petrified wood to brass, bronze, and vintage elements she picks up on her travels. Each collection is built around a theme, often inspired by a song. One recent series paid homage to Marty Robbins' "El Paso." Another drew from Colter Wall. For the recent Spring Show she created a Horse Hair Pottery collection to represent the year of the Horse.
It's jewelry with a soundtrack, and that's part of what makes it feel so distinctly Round Top.
Prices range from around $115 for lighter pieces to $340 and up for her signature stone-set bolo ties, with custom orders available for something truly personal.
Reach out to Mackenzie on social media, or visit her website for more info on Customs.
Stylist Whitney Would in her Horse Hair Bolo Tie
Jessie with Lady Lancaster with her Double Bolo Tie
A Round Top Regular
Mackenzie vends at Zapp Hall during the Round Top shows, and if you've walked through those doors, there's a good chance you've already spotted her booth. Her own website references the pull that Texas has on her.
She'll be back at Zapp Hall for the Fall 2026 Show, October 16 through 31. If you're planning a trip, put her on the list - if not, shop her website!
Visit Semplicé Designs at Zapp Hall
Round Top Finds Tip:
Mackenzie takes custom orders, so if you have a favorite song lyric, a meaningful phrase, or a stone you've been dreaming about, reach out before the show. A custom Semplicé bolo tie is the kind of piece that becomes a family heirloom.
