Welles, Clara (04 August 1868–14 March 1965), silversmith and designer, was born Clara Pauline Barck in New York City, the daughter of John Barck and Margaret Bowman, both of Scandinavian descent. After Clara’s birth the Barcks moved to Oregon. In the late 1890s she left the Pacific Northwest to enroll in the Department of Decorative Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Influenced by C. R. Ashbee and the English Arts and Crafts movement, she graduated from the school in 1900, and in September of that year she opened the Kalo Shop (“Kalo” derives from the Greek word for beautiful) at 175 Dearborn Avenue in Chicago. Staffed by young women known as the Kalo girls, the shop produced a variety of craft wares including burnt-leather and base-metal goods. In 1902 the Kalo Shop displayed their wares at the first annual arts and crafts exhibition of the Chicago Art Institute. The firm continued to exhibit there until 1921....
