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The story behind Connie and Kevin Kissel's jewelry business goes beyond a passion for accessories or a desire to be entrepreneurs.

It's also a love story.

Their jewelry business, Liquid Time & Co., evolved from a shared interest in antiques, particularly glass. It's also something they do together because even after 19 years of marriage, the Kissels still like spending time with each other.

"After all these years, I still dig him," Connie Kissel says of Kevin.

Connie and Kevin Kissel, 39 (both will turn 40 in July, with birthdays 17 days apart), have known each other since second grade. He used to push her on the swing so he could peek up her dress. They are from Frankfort, Mich., where they dated through high school. She followed him to New York, where he attended the Culinary Institute of America. From there, they headed to Key West, Fla., where Kevin Kissel had an externship.

They discovered North Carolina on their drives from New York to Key West. They liked the mild climate, and it seemed like a good place to raise a family. After his externship, they moved to Cary. Kevin Kissel got a job with Marriott as culinary manager over all operations at Duke University's Hospital and Conference Centers.

They returned to Michigan to be closer to their families. But less than a year later, Marriott transferred Kissel to Greensboro, where they've remained since 1997.

The Kissels always loved antiques. They liked to study history in high school. They even started collecting antiques in college -- mostly old soda signs and Pepsi-Cola bottles from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Connie Kissel collects vintage perfume bottles, which she displays in glass cases throughout her home.

"We just got the bug, and from there, it just continued into a definite passion," Kevin Kissel says.

At one time, they had about 2,000 soda bottles in their collection. But as time passed, they became more savvy about collecting antiques. Instead of merely collecting something because it was old, they started considering the condition and value of the item.

About 15 years ago, Kevin Kissel started digging for his own glass. He occasionally finds old homesites where he might find buried glass. Sometimes he would dig as far as 16 or 18 feet below ground.

Connie Kissel loves to go antiquing with Kevin.

"It's like uncovering a treasure," she says. "It's exciting to see what you can find, and what kind of price you can get (for it)."

Connie Kissel always dabbled in jewelry design. Before working with vintage glass, she made beaded jewelry. And Kevin Kissel would occasionally help her. They discussed using their antique glass to make jewelry but weren't exactly sure how to do it.

Liquid Time finally came about through frustration.

Kevin Kissel describes it like this: "She had me sitting here stringing these homemade clay beads -- these tiny little beads. I could hardly hold them. I was getting pretty tired of it. So I said to her, 'Let me have some money, and let's see if this could work.' "

Kevin Kissel really felt it could be done; Connie had doubts.

He just had to melt the glass so it could be molded into the shapes they wanted. It had to be heated at a high temperature and then cut. All he needed was about $200, he told her.

"I got a rinky-dink saw, a torch and some goggles," he says.

The torch was a bad idea. But Kevin Kissel persisted. He took some glass classes. He also talked to glass experts, and they allowed him to use their kilns. Old bottles have mineral deposits from the ground, which makes the glass harder to fire. And different colors fire at different temperatures.

Finally, after nearly a year of trial and error, he discovered a technique that worked. They tried to keep their startup costs low, adding equipment piece by piece. They spent about $10,000 that year, buying equipment and materials.

"We were determined not to go into a huge amount of debt," Connie Kissel says.

They only use glass that's at least a century old, mostly from their collection. Once Kevin Kissel has fired and cut the glass into geometric shapes, Connie Kissel uses the shapes as pendants for necklaces or centerpieces for bracelets.

The name evolved from a list of words they thought were catchy. They liked the word "liquid," to represent the transformation of the glass throughout the process. They also wanted to convey a sense of timelessness.

It was Kevin Kissel's idea to have the Liquid Time & Co. logo on each piece. Connie Kissel wasn't sure it was a good aesthetic decision. But he insisted they needed to differentiate their jewelry line from others, like Oakley or Tiffany & Co. So LT & CO in simple white lettering is lasered onto each piece of glass. Connie Kissel now says it was the right decision: "He was very right about that."

The Kissels design and produce all of their jewelry at their northwest Greensboro home. Kevin Kissel fires and cuts the glass in a small work space -- an area along one wall of their two-car garage. He moves the cars to the driveway when he works.

He's out there before work or on his days off. He likes it because it's so different from his job as a restaurant manager. In the garage, he doesn't have to worry about managing his staff or pleasing customers. It's just him and the glass.

Connie Kissel works in the family room on a table covered with various rolls of chains, strips of leather and pieces of glass. Their 12-year-old daughter, Carlie, likes to help organize her work area. Connie Kissel designs jewelry throughout the day.

They started selling their jewelry to small, independently owned boutiques in September 2007.

Locally, their jewelry can be found at Splurges Boutique. Connie Kissel is a buyer for the store.

They also have products in small boutiques in Sanford, Reidsville, Raleigh and Boone, as well as others along the East Coast.

The Kissels say they hope the business will grow slowly and eventually reach the West Coast market.

They turned a profit -- Connie Kissel describes it as "a profit worthy of thankfulness" -- for the first time last year.

This year, they joined Etsy, the online marketplace for all things handmade.

At Splurges, Liquid Time jewelry ranges from $12 to $60.

Splurges owner Susie Blackwell says in addition to the reasonable price, it's easy to promote the line because it's locally made from vintage glass bottles.

"There's a story behind her line," Blackwell says. "Her and her husband have been collecting (glass) for 20 years, and they're working as a couple."

Blackwell, whose own family is heavily involved in managing her boutique, likes that customers can meet Connie Kissel at the store when they buy her jewelry.

The Kissels love running into people wearing their jewelry. So far, their jewelry business is a lot more enjoyable than it was in those days when Kevin Kissel had to string beads.

"It's fun. We love it," he says.

"It's very, very fun to do something we both love," Connie Kissel says.

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com