This is not another article about jewelry stores closing. It’s the other side of the coin, the story you don’t hear reported, the story about new jewelry stores opening! It seems every few days you see online or in print news of jewelry stores closing.
But in my ongoing travels around the country visiting retailers I’ve run into many stories of new jewelry stores opening, often by Millennials or Gen Y new entrepreneurs, a story often under-reported in the news. So here’s the other side of the coin, the good news! Here are the first hand stories with pictures of new jewelry retailers taking the plunge and launching their stores.
Frank & Co Fine Jewelry
Orange Beach, AL
Frank & Co. Fine Jewelry. Frank in white shirt, Jack in grey pullover, with staff.
Frank Trainor and Jack Wallace have been in jewelry most of their lives doing a very different type of business. With all of the modernizations in the jewelry world they quickly realized if they joined forces and switched to a brick and mortar retail boutique they’d be able to sustain their jewelry careers as well as create jobs for their family. Being a family owned and operated business, Frank & Co. has successfully brought their vision to life.
Since its grand opening in fall 2018, the store has proven their idea was worth it time and time again. By doing 90% of their work in-house, Frank & Co quickly became a premier jewelry shop in Orange Beach, Alabama. “We continue to increase sales, custom jobs as well as repairs quarter after quarter. The response to the new shop has been amazing,” says Frank.
Tresor Collection Boutique
Coral Gables, FL
Puja (r) and Sachin Bordia at their new flagship boutique.
Puja Bordia, a successful high-end jewelry designer for a decade, in December 2019 took the plunge with her husband Sachin and opened a flagship boutique in the Miami area. “The idea behind this boutique is to offer our clients and customers a museum/gallery type of atmosphere and ambience. It’s a very open layout making our clients feel very welcome! We have fine jewelry, loose gemstones, gemstone carved birds and gemstone rough all beautifully displayed in a museum-type setting so that the viewer can see all different forms of gems and jewelry. We wanted them to have a very unique experience when visiting our boutique! We are doing great and had fabulous feedback from everyone and already made many new followers and clients,” said Puja.
Cass Jewelers
Greensboro, NC
Cass Jewelers impressive new storefront.
“Although our family has owned jewelry stores for four generations, Cass Jewelers recently expanded and reopened in a new location in northwest Greensboro. Cass Jewelers has been a ‘full service’ jewelry store since 1948 featuring fine watch and jewelry repair, custom designs and appraisals. We moved to a newer, growing part of Greensboro in Guilford County, and business has been up so far since our recent move,” said Geoff Cass, owner of Cass Jewelers.
Balefire Goods
Arvada, CO
Jamie Hollier, owner, Balefire Goods.
“Artisan jewelry was a passion for me, and in 2017 I decided to return to my passion to open an artisan jewelry gallery. Although I had studied metalsmithing as part of my undergraduate degree, I had spent the last decade as an entrepreneur in tech, requiring travel around the country. I also stopped into artisan jewelry galleries in Chicago, Seattle, etc. When I decided I wanted to go in a different direction professionally, I knew it was time to create an art jewelry gallery in the Denver market.
“We created Balefire as a place where people could be exposed to the breadth and depth of creativity in jewelry and understand artisan jewelry as wearable art. It was important to us to highlight a diversity of styles, materials, price points, and local through international artists.
“The response has been wonderful. In just over two years we have had over 100 different artists in our galley, hosted amazing shows, taught classes, done custom work, and made lifelong friends. We have amazingly loyal and supportive customers and have been honored to win recognition. This January we even expanded into a new space that is double the original gallery size and can’t wait to see what’s next!” said Jamie Hollier, owner, Balefire Goods.
Congratulations and best wishes for all success to these great new ventures! If you have a new store and would like to be featured in a future article, contact me (contact info below).
