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Curiocity: Xcel's MN-Made Gift For Sarah Brightman

When national touring artists stop at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, they leave with a little reminder of our Minnesota Nice. This series examines the locally made treasures given to these celebrity visitors.

Earlier this year, powerhouse singer Sarah Brightman put plans in motion to become the first recording artist to venture into space. Brightman said her passion for space exploration began when she was a little girl, watching the very first moon landing on her family's black-and-white TV.

Sometime in the next two years, Brightman will travel to the International Space Station to fulfill her lifelong dream.

The journey to the great beyond even inspired her latest record, "Dreamcatcher," which she's promoting while on tour this year.

That tour hits Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Thursday and when she arrives, she'll find a Minnesota-made treasure, also inspired by her passion for space.

Patric Richardson, owner of designer consignment boutique Mona Williams, knew exactly what he wanted to do when the opportunity came up to design a gift for Miss Brightman.

"I was inspired by space," Richardson said. "It's rose-cut diamonds in a bracelet and rose-cut diamonds give you the look of a nebula so it already looks futuristic and spacey."

Richardson said he worked with local designer Liz Oie to combine the diamonds with a boho-chic leather bracelet to complete the look.

"Obviously I hope she loves it," Richardson said. "I hope she wears it and I hope when she wears it, she continues to be fascinated by space. I think it's cool that she's a classical singer but has these interests other than just music. And I kind of like that the gift speaks to a different interest. Of course, it'd be dreamy if she wore it when she went into space, I'm just saying."

Sarah Brightman Gift
(credit: Xcel Energy Center)

Richardson said he's been a fan of Brightman since her Phantom of the Opera days and followed her music beyond the iconic musical by her former husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

He said designing a piece for Brightman was daunting but extremely cool and exciting.

"At first you panic, because she travels the world frequently, you know, she sung at two different Olympics, so it's daunting because you think, well, she has everything and has access to everything possible," he said. "I hope that she sees it as something from Minnesota ... a neat reminder of her concert. Everyone here will always remember her concert because it's so special that she comes, so I hope she takes the gift with her and thinks it's special that she came, too."

Sarah Brightman
(credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Sarah Brightman will perform at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center. For more information or tickets, check out their website. For more information about Mona Williams, click here.

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