The jewelry category may struggle this holiday season, forecasts Stevan Buxbaum, executive vice president of Buxbaum Group, a turnaround investors and consultants company.
"It is more expensive this year thanks to the rising prices of precious metals, and you won't get quite as much for your dollar," Buxbaum said in a media release.
Consumers also won't have to wait long for merchandise to go on sale due to the slowing economy and the sag in consumer spending, Buxbaum predicts.
"We'll see a lot of retailers discounting earlier," Buxbaum said. "They're not going to play the game of waiting to see if someone else cuts first. We've already seen Wal-Mart make a price move at the beginning of October. It's not even waiting for Halloween, and that's amazing."
Buxbaum also said that customers' nerves will dictate where they shop.
"People will move down a notch in their consumption habits," Buxbaum said. "If they were department store shoppers, you might see them a little more inclined to shop at Target. If they shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch last year, they may turn instead to a less-expensive retailer like Aeropostale. They will still be looking for strong fashion items, but they may go a notch down in terms of price."
The issue of price is also a huge factor when it comes to European luxury items such as leather goods. Although still appealing, the appreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar has made merchandise in Europe more expensive than last year. Consequently, Buxbaum predicts that American producers of luxury goods will benefit.
Electronics will continue to remain hot holiday items, Buxbaum said, as will accessories, especially "one-size" items such as handbags. Apparel sales will ultimately be determined by the weather.
Source: nationaljewelernetwork
Nov 6, 2007
Amazon Third-Quarter Diamond Sales Up 75%
Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter diamond sales rose more than 75 percent year over year.
The company said that each quarter a rising number of customers are visiting its online jewelry and watches store.
During the quarter, Amazon.com's best-selling diamond products included white gold Journey Curve 0.5-ct. pendant and the yellow gold Journey Curve 2-ct. pendant. Gemstones were very popular in the third quarter, Amazon said. Purchses included a white gold ruby and 2-ct. diamond ring, a 14k white gold pink sapphire and diamond bracelet, and 14k yellow gold four-prong round peridot stud earrings.
The Seattle-based company said it added 2,269 new styles of diamond jewelry to its selection during the quarter and more than 240 new gemstone products.
Amazon.com's Jewelry & Watches Store offers more than 100,000 diamond jewelry and watch items, including 5,000 diamond watches, 16,000 pairs of diamond earrings, 22,000 diamond necklaces, and 7,000 bracelets
"Buying diamonds online, whether it be a ring, a pair of studs, or a pendant is a very important purchase," said Peter Lai, director, Amazon.com Jewelry & Watches Store. "At Amazon.com we pride ourselves on offering our customers nothing but the highest-quality diamond products at the lowest prices with an easy and convenient experience."
Source: jckonline
Nov 4, 2007
Jewelry store in the family for 70 years
The best stories are the ones gleaned during 70 years of running a family business in Billings.
And Montague's Jewelers of Montana, which hit that rare anniversary mark this year, has a doozy.
Chris Montague, the third-generation family jeweler, said most men plan for their live-altering decisions. However, some don't.
A couple of years ago, a man walked in at 10 a.m., and ordered a rush job on an engagement ring. The man told Montague he had decided to propose to his love at Flathead Lake and had to catch the 3 p.m. Big Sky Airlines flight.
After placing the diamond in the ring, Montague jumped in his car for the fast zip from the downtown store up to the airport. Worried he would miss the flight, he called Big Sky on his cell phone and asked if they would hold the plane. "I ran out on the tarmac to the fence and the pilot met me, grabbed the ring and ran back to the plane. The kid came out, gave me a thumbs up, " he said. "They closed the doors and the plane flew off."
When asked why his customer didn't plan ahead, Jay said, "This guy just had a big XY chromosome."
When a family business has lasted into the third generation, the relatives still get along and sales are good, its time to party.
Montague's recently held a 70th-anniversary party at the old Montana National Bank building that now is home to Buchanan Capital. The party featured a trunk show with some of the world's best jewelry by Oscar Heyman & Bros., S.A. Gems/Naledi Jewelry, Masriera and the Palladium Alliance.
"Oscar Heyman & Bros. of New York City is one of the top three jewelry makers in the world," Chris said, adding that these companies, like his family's, are third- and fourth-generation jewelry people.
An expert from Heyman & Bros. brought in several million dollars worth of jewelry, some of them one-of-a-kind designs.
Madagascar Imports of Laurel, a wholesale company owned by Bill and Margit Thorndal, also displayed colored gemstones, sapphire and aquamarine.
Times were tough during the start of this family business.
Wally Montague, Jay's father and Chris' grandfather, and his wife, Lois, started the Jewel Box in 1937 in the Fratt Building along Second Avenue North.
"Two months later, the 1937 flood hit, soaking downtown and destroying their apartment below the store," Jay said. "They just lost all their personal belongings, but not the jewelry upstairs."
For six months, a local couple fed and lodged the Montagues, who had just moved up from Idaho with their newborn girl.
"I don't think Grandpa ever forgot the kind nature of this city. He always loved Billings for that reason and wanted to give back," said Chris Montague.
That philanthropic tradition continues. A display case at the back of the downtown store features some 50 thank-you cards from a rainbow of local businesses and charities.
"Last year, our family contributed cash or jewelry to help run 34 different programs," Chris Montague said. "Our jewelry helped these organizations raise $120,000 last year, and that can make a real difference."
One 2006 philanthropic effort helped Billings Family Services raise $6,000, enough to pay a year's worth of utility bills for six or seven families.
Jay Montague started working in his father's business in 1963. In 2002, his son, Chris Montague, who had worked on the 1996 re-election campaign for Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and for the Montana Land Reliance, came home to help run the family business.
The family opened a West End store at West Park Plaza when that mall opened and then moved to Rimrock Mall in 1997 after the Hart-Albin department store closed in downtown Billings.
Three years ago, the family returned to its original downtown street, opening a second store on Second Avenue North.
Quick-witted and fast to smile, the father-son team said their business is a happy one. "We do enjoy helping people at the happiest moments of their lives: engagements, birthdays, anniversaries and weddings," Jay said. Watching third and fourth generations return for wedding rings is especially satisfying, he said.
Sales have been up every month in recent years, Chris said.
"A local business may be a skosh more expensive, but we'll take care of you," Chris said, adding that some catalog or big retail store jewelry is so inexpensively made, usually in China, that rings are too thin to size when customers come in asking for help.
Recently, the family started selling palladium jewelry, because it is increasingly popular and is made from a metal mined at Stillwater Mining Co.'s two Montana sites.
"We bought into palladium two years ago and it's been fantastic," Chris said.
Both platinum and palladium are shiny and silver-colored. Platinum is the longest lasting, the heaviest and most expensive of the two. Palladium is much more affordable. White gold is third in strength, but it needs to be replated with rhodium after heavy use.
The toughest challenge is managing time, Chris said.
"Customer care comes first and it's hard to get to everything else," he said.
Peering up from the gem scope where he was analyzing a ring, Jay told a customer the diamond and stones weren't real. A jeweler needs many diverse skills, he said, from buying, sizing and grading stones to designing, pricing and selling jewelry.
When asked to recall all the business advice they heard through the years from Wally, both Jay and Chris Montague started laughing again.
"Wally liked to say, 'There are a few relationships as important as your jeweler, your attorney, your accountant, your doctor and your mechanic,' " Jay said. "We want to be important to people."
Source: missoulian
And Montague's Jewelers of Montana, which hit that rare anniversary mark this year, has a doozy.
Chris Montague, the third-generation family jeweler, said most men plan for their live-altering decisions. However, some don't.
A couple of years ago, a man walked in at 10 a.m., and ordered a rush job on an engagement ring. The man told Montague he had decided to propose to his love at Flathead Lake and had to catch the 3 p.m. Big Sky Airlines flight.
After placing the diamond in the ring, Montague jumped in his car for the fast zip from the downtown store up to the airport. Worried he would miss the flight, he called Big Sky on his cell phone and asked if they would hold the plane. "I ran out on the tarmac to the fence and the pilot met me, grabbed the ring and ran back to the plane. The kid came out, gave me a thumbs up, " he said. "They closed the doors and the plane flew off."
When asked why his customer didn't plan ahead, Jay said, "This guy just had a big XY chromosome."
When a family business has lasted into the third generation, the relatives still get along and sales are good, its time to party.
Montague's recently held a 70th-anniversary party at the old Montana National Bank building that now is home to Buchanan Capital. The party featured a trunk show with some of the world's best jewelry by Oscar Heyman & Bros., S.A. Gems/Naledi Jewelry, Masriera and the Palladium Alliance.
"Oscar Heyman & Bros. of New York City is one of the top three jewelry makers in the world," Chris said, adding that these companies, like his family's, are third- and fourth-generation jewelry people.
An expert from Heyman & Bros. brought in several million dollars worth of jewelry, some of them one-of-a-kind designs.
Madagascar Imports of Laurel, a wholesale company owned by Bill and Margit Thorndal, also displayed colored gemstones, sapphire and aquamarine.
Times were tough during the start of this family business.
Wally Montague, Jay's father and Chris' grandfather, and his wife, Lois, started the Jewel Box in 1937 in the Fratt Building along Second Avenue North.
"Two months later, the 1937 flood hit, soaking downtown and destroying their apartment below the store," Jay said. "They just lost all their personal belongings, but not the jewelry upstairs."
For six months, a local couple fed and lodged the Montagues, who had just moved up from Idaho with their newborn girl.
"I don't think Grandpa ever forgot the kind nature of this city. He always loved Billings for that reason and wanted to give back," said Chris Montague.
That philanthropic tradition continues. A display case at the back of the downtown store features some 50 thank-you cards from a rainbow of local businesses and charities.
"Last year, our family contributed cash or jewelry to help run 34 different programs," Chris Montague said. "Our jewelry helped these organizations raise $120,000 last year, and that can make a real difference."
One 2006 philanthropic effort helped Billings Family Services raise $6,000, enough to pay a year's worth of utility bills for six or seven families.
Jay Montague started working in his father's business in 1963. In 2002, his son, Chris Montague, who had worked on the 1996 re-election campaign for Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and for the Montana Land Reliance, came home to help run the family business.
The family opened a West End store at West Park Plaza when that mall opened and then moved to Rimrock Mall in 1997 after the Hart-Albin department store closed in downtown Billings.
Three years ago, the family returned to its original downtown street, opening a second store on Second Avenue North.
Quick-witted and fast to smile, the father-son team said their business is a happy one. "We do enjoy helping people at the happiest moments of their lives: engagements, birthdays, anniversaries and weddings," Jay said. Watching third and fourth generations return for wedding rings is especially satisfying, he said.
Sales have been up every month in recent years, Chris said.
"A local business may be a skosh more expensive, but we'll take care of you," Chris said, adding that some catalog or big retail store jewelry is so inexpensively made, usually in China, that rings are too thin to size when customers come in asking for help.
Recently, the family started selling palladium jewelry, because it is increasingly popular and is made from a metal mined at Stillwater Mining Co.'s two Montana sites.
"We bought into palladium two years ago and it's been fantastic," Chris said.
Both platinum and palladium are shiny and silver-colored. Platinum is the longest lasting, the heaviest and most expensive of the two. Palladium is much more affordable. White gold is third in strength, but it needs to be replated with rhodium after heavy use.
The toughest challenge is managing time, Chris said.
"Customer care comes first and it's hard to get to everything else," he said.
Peering up from the gem scope where he was analyzing a ring, Jay told a customer the diamond and stones weren't real. A jeweler needs many diverse skills, he said, from buying, sizing and grading stones to designing, pricing and selling jewelry.
When asked to recall all the business advice they heard through the years from Wally, both Jay and Chris Montague started laughing again.
"Wally liked to say, 'There are a few relationships as important as your jeweler, your attorney, your accountant, your doctor and your mechanic,' " Jay said. "We want to be important to people."
Source: missoulian
Jeweler Admits Lying Over Sale
A Manhattan jeweler known as the Harry Winston of the hip-hop world who was accused of laundering money for a Detroit-based cocaine ring pleaded guilty yesterday to reduced charges.
In a deal with federal prosecutors in Detroit, the jeweler, Jacob Arabo, admitted to filing a false document with the federal government attesting that pieces of jewelry had simply been lent for a video shoot when in fact they had been sold, said his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman. He also admitted to lying to federal agents.
Mr. Arabo, who goes by the name of Jacob the Jeweler and who was listed in court papers as Yakov Arabov, agreed to pay $2 million, roughly the cost of the jewelry involved in the false document. He faces a likely sentence of 37 to 46 months’ imprisonment when he is sentenced early next year, Mr. Brafman said.
The original charge of money laundering, which could have brought him 10 to 15 years in prison, was dismissed, Mr. Brafman said.
Mr. Arabo counted among his clients musicians like Sean Combs, known as Diddy, and Madonna as well as athletes like Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal.
Mr. Arabo, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, said in a statement that he hoped to “atone” for his wrongdoings, and added, “America is the greatest country on earth, and I have great regret that I violated the law.”
Mr. Arabo was arrested in June 2006 at his store on East 57th Street. He and 40 other defendants were accused of conspiring to launder about $270 million in drug profits for the “Black Mafia Family,” a drug ring. Some defendants have pleaded guilty, and some are going to trial, Mr. Brafman said.
Source: nytimes
Gold jewelry show
Jewelry producers must continue to find ways to pass along the rising costs, and price increases are likely, analysts say. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
Jewelry Design Competition winners announced
The Hawaii Jewelers Association has released details of its 2007 Jewelry Design Competition.
Award winners, with descriptions of the winning jewelry provided by the Jewelers Association:
COMPETITION NUMBER ONE — JEWELRY UNDER $3,500
Third Place - SUPERIOR AGATE by Tom Warner of Tom Warner Imports. This 18-karat white gold and diamond ring features a rare, richly colored Lake Superior banded agate.
Second Place - NIGHT WIND by Dana Romsdal of Goldsmiths Kauai. An white gold slide pendant featuring a dramatic, carved drusy black onyx, a beautiful silver Tahitian pearl and accented with diamonds.
First Place - BUTTERFLY ON SUNFLOWER by Michael Van Ly of Maui Divers. A hand made diamond accented sunflower motif brooch featuring a fluttering pave' set butterfly about to light on the open flower.
People's Choice - BUTTERFLY ON SUNFLOWER by Michael Van Ly of Maui Divers.
COMPETITION NUMBER TWO — JEWELRY OVER $2,500
Third Place - HEAVENLY TEARS by Karen Yee of Opal Fields. These earrings feature a rare matched pair of enhanced blue Eight Star diamonds. Dangling from an array of natural fancy and colorless diamonds, they appear as blue heavenly tears.
Second Place - LOVE ME TONIGHT by Bill Stockton of Lehua Jewelers. Representing a 30 year anniversary, this 18-karat white gold pendant features three South Seas pearls intertwined in diamonds, all freely rotating.
First Place - CIRCLE OF LOVE by Brian Thomsen of Kohala Goldsmiths. This 18-karat yellow and white gold neckpiece features a suite of rare black opals, accented with pave' and bezel set diamonds. Opal, symbolizing purity and love in combination with the purity of the circle design, completes a stunning article of jewelry.
People's Choice - LOVE ME TONIGHT by Bill Stockton, Lehua Jewelers.
COMPETITION NUMBER THREE — HAWAIIAN THEME JEWELRY
Third Place - TINY BUBBLES by Karen Yee of Opal Fields. The design of this bracelet is playful, happy and bubbly like the song by Don Ho that inspired it. Excellently crafted in 14-karat gold it features tiny black opals, bubbly white opals, fancy yellow diamonds and ruby cabochons.
Second Place - KOA BUG by Tom Warner, Tom Warner Imports. This 18-karat yellow and white gold "koa bug" motif pendant features a rare "tube" agate from the Lake Superior area. It includes rare Isle Royal green stone eyes and a diamond head. The idea is that the wearer of this pendant, like the Hawaiian koa bug, will live happy and care free.
First Place - HAWAIIAN GREEN FLASH by Bruce Bucky of Hildgunds. The brilliance and mystery of Hawai'i's legendary green flash is captured in these beautiful dangle earrings. Featuring regal green tourmaline and brilliant diamonds, they are hand crafted in 18-karat gold.
People's Choice - HAWAIIAN GREEN FLASH by Bruce Bucky of Hildgunds.
The Designer of the Year Award goes to BUTTERFLY ON SUNFLOWER by Michael Van Ly,Maui Divers.
The Jeweler of the Year Award was awarded to Shawn Hanley and Maui Divers for outstanding industry contribution in facilitating educational events for jewelry professionals state wide. Last year, Tommy Kakasako of Kakasako Brothers received the award.
Source: honoluluadvertiser
Nov 1, 2007
Too Many 'Yes' Men In The Diamond Business?
There is an old but true piece of advice that goes as follows:
"To be successful in any endeavor you cannot simply surround yourself with 'yes' men."
What this means (loosely translated) is that in order to succeed, you sometimes need the objectivity that can only be provided by those whose perspectives and opinions are not influenced by the desire to tell you what you wish to hear, but rather, what they actually feel you need to hear.
It is my experience that the diamond business in particular is full of these 'yes' men.
These are the salesmen and women, the managers and directors, the diamond buyers, the brokers, the jewelry reps. and all those whose positions, purchasing habits, etc. are completely skewered by the desire to be 'yes' men to the person(s) who pays the salary...
This is true on the Internet as well. There are 'yes' men in the data entry department, the IT dept., SEO dept, graphic design dept., programming dept.
Basically, there are 'yes' men all over, who ultimately do a disservice to themselves, as well as to the people who pay them.
Simply "going with the flow" is not always prudent or advisable. "Safety in numbers" is largely overrated!
Source: diamondvues
'Jacob the Jeweler' pleads guilty, could face prison
 |
| Jacob the Jeweler, pictured here with pop star Fergie, could face 37 to 46 months in prison and up to $2 million in fines under his plea agreement. |
Detroit—Jacob Arabov, known among his celebrity clients as "Jacob the Jeweler," pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to falsification of records and making a false statement to a federal agent in connection with a federal money-laundering investigation in Detroit that involved a drug ring.
Under the plea agreement, Arabov could face 37 to 46 months in prison and up to $2 million in fines, but federal prosecutors in Detroit dropped all money-laundering charges against the jeweler, according to a statement from his New York attorney, Benjamin Brafman, of Brafman and Associates.
The plea stems from a money-laundering case that Arabov was charged in last summer.
Arabov, 42, was arrested in New York on June 15, 2006, after federal authorities in Detroit charged him with "conspiracy to launder monetary instruments" in a 13-count indictment that also named 15 others. The indictment alleged that Arabov helped members of the "Black Mafia Family" launder cash that it made selling drugs all over the country during the 1990s, court papers said. He pleaded not guilty to those charges, and his trial had been set for later this year.
Arabov, a Russian immigrant, who opened his own business in New York in 1986, became popular among hip-hop and rhythm and blues artists in the mid 1990s after he attracted the attention of Faith Hill and her husband, the late Notorious B.I.G.
An award-winning designer whose clients include Jay-Z, Beyoncé Knowles and Victoria Beckham, Arabov opened a flagship store on 57th Street in Manhattan in December 2004, showcasing his diamond-intensive jewelry and complications-heavy watches that featured multiple time zones.
Brafman said Arabov is a fundamentally honest citizen who used bad judgment in an attempt to conceal his dealings with "a small group of individuals."
"Mr. Arabov is one of the most brilliant and successful high-end jewelry entrepreneurs in the world," Brafman said in a media release. "His is a story of remarkable accomplishment achieved through creative genius and extraordinary talent. The isolated instance of criminal wrongdoing, while serious, should not define his lifetime of hard, honest work. Jacob is confident and hopeful that both the court and the business community will recognize him as a fundamentally decent, honorable man who used very poor judgment, but to his credit, has accepted responsibility for his conduct."
In a statement of his own, Arabov said he has always been blessed with loving friends and family.
"I realize I have made a terrible mistake and I accept the consequences of my actions," Arabov said. "America is the greatest country on earth and I have great regret that I violated the law. My desire is to do whatever I can to atone for my wrongdoings and move ahead with the great business I have built and the wonderful family that I love."
Source: nationaljewelernetwork
Radical remade jewelry
A better way to create jewelry, economically and ecologically, than stripping precious minerals and ores from the earth is to recycle the unwanted pieces already cluttering dresser drawers and jewelry boxes across America.
That's the belief of Christina Miller, assistant professor of fine arts metals at Millersville University, and it's the reason she and two friends founded Ethical Metalsmiths, an organization, Miller said, that is "concerned about the environment and the human-rights issues associated with mining."
One way to take on the problems of mining, Miller said, is to decrease the demand for precious metals by recycling pieces that already exist. To that end, Ethical Metalsmiths began the Radical Jewelry Makeover last year at Richmond Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
This year, Miller brought the program to her classroom at Millersville.
"Radical Jewelry Makeover was designed as a community mining project to show that we have hoarded material in our own jewelry boxes at home, and that it's a great source of material for people to work with as an alternative to using freshly mined metals," Miller said. "It also gives the students an amazing opportunity to see what people collect and to work with materials they don't often get to work with."
Since Sept. 11, Miller, her students and others have been soliciting donations of jewelry.
The response was overwhelming. More than 130 people donated items, more than twice the amount received last year. The donations include costume jewelry, old wedding rings, heirloom pocket watches, rings, bracelets and even items found on a North Carolina beach with a metal detector.
"The jewelry comes in all shapes and sizes — costume, plastic, wood, gold," Miller said. "We've gotten quite a bit of gold and quite a bit of sterling silver."
This week, Miller and her students, past and present, along with alumni, local metalsmiths and Franklin & Marshall College students, have been in the classroom taking apart some pieces and reassembling new ones.
Sometimes that just means restringing beads, while other pieces were "completely transformed by melting down."
The experience gives many students an rare opportunity to work with precious metals.
"I've never been able to work with gold before," Millersville senior Juleanne Benkoski of Limerick said. "I would never be able to afford gold unless it was something like this."
Two students from last year's makeover in Richmond are helping out this week at Millersville.
Carlene Bermann, a junior from Hampton, Va., likes "the philosophy" behind the project and enjoys working with "everybody's junk."
"The whole process of the recycling and getting everyone aware of what's going on in the mining industry, I think that's the most important part to me," she said.
Meg Roberts, a junior from Richmond, said, "As object makers, it's hard to justify bringing another object into the world and adding to the junk already existing. This gives the junk a purpose since it can be recycled."
The designs of the new jewelry are the students' own. Miller encourages them to "be clever in their reuse" and "not just pile on a bunch of materials."
Student-created items will be exhibited from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in The Candy Factory Gallery at the Keppel Building, 323 N. Queen St.
Donors and the public may purchase jewelry at the exhibit and pick up the pieces from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Seventy percent of proceeds will go to the Ethical Metalsmiths to help pay for next year's program in San Francisco. The remaining 30 percent will go to the makeover sponsor, the Millersville University Jewelry and Metal Arts Guild.
Source: lancasteronline
'Storied' Jewelry at Southbury Shop
The jewelry emporium on Southbury's main shopping street carries the work of about 20 local jewelry makers, as well as a make-it-yourself bead bar, complimentary coffee, tea and cappuccino and an array of gourmet sweets for sale.
The shop, which opened Oct. 13, is the brainchild of jewelry maker Laura Vhay, who dreamed of having a place to showcase her work and the work of other artists she admired. It's also a place for friends to congregate and shop, sip or have a jewelry-making party that can be customized to suit girls, women, birthdays, bridal parties or other occasions. Mrs. Vhay hopes to begin hosting and teaching jewelry making classes soon and she is also renting formal jewelry for events and repairing and reworking existing pieces.
The Jewelry Café is a great place to shop for gifts because items can be found in all different styles and price points. Simple twisted wire rings featuring a single stone sell for about $15 and are perfect for teenagers; beaded bookmarks sell for $7 and would please a reader who doesn't love jewels; printed handbags trimmed in grosgrain ribbon are ideal for preppy styles and cost $40, and ornate enameled pieces suited to significant gift-giving occasions cost approximately $400-they are the most expensive items in the store. Purchases are wrapped and topped with a handmade truffle or gourmet cookie.
Mrs. Vhay is a tireless curator of jewelry, working to ensure that her artists are given an equal opportunity to sell pieces and that the jewelers she represents don't overlap too much in what they create. She has everything from delicate pieces molded from twigs and leaves to conservative pearl items to
organic-looking hammered silver hoops and cuffs. In the first week she was open, she was proud to report that all of her artists made sales.
The idea of people connecting, whether bringing together friends to create jewelry or connecting artisans with customers who love their work, seems as important to the shop owner as moving merchandise. She talks about her jewelers as friends and her logo features a cartoon of two women smiling and chatting over coffee at a cafe table.
With her shop, Mrs. Vhay hopes "to provide a conduit between the arts community and consumers in the Litchfield County area, whereby artists can build their business and consumers can reap the benefits of enjoying a handmade, often one-of-a-kind piece at reasonable prices with the added knowledge they are made right here in New England," according to her mission statement.
Though her store just opened a few weeks ago, Mrs. Vhay is no stranger to retail. She owned a similar business, Lulu Belle Gallery, in Monroe that represented all kinds of crafters, for several years in the 1990s.
The Jewelry Cafe is selling the work of about 20 jewelers but Mrs. Vhay intends to recruit about 15 more artisans. Those currently being carried in the shop include Angie Atkins, who crafts luminescent pieces with chips of ancient Roman glass; the KATYA line designed by two self-described "Baltic babes" who specialize in amber, amethyst, lapis lazuli, garnet, onyx and jade pieces; Eileen Clark's Odonata Jewelry featuring pieces of natural sea glass she finds on the Long Island Sound beaches near her Guilford home; Keith Lewis's line of wearable kinetic-sculpture earrings; Dragonfly Jewelry by Karen Zaorsky of Wolcott who uses Balinese silver, hand-torched lampwork glass, beads and found objects to create her line; Marcia Moore's intricate woven bead pieces; Soppas, the brainchild of Middletown metalsmith Denise DeStefano and Moodus artist Lisa Cassella, who together produce hammered metal items, and Kaitlin Stumpf, the youngest artist in the collective at a scant 7 years old, who creates the aforementioned bookmarks.
Mrs. Vhay loves to tell the backgrounds of her artists with shoppers and seems well-versed with each creator. "Everybody has a story, and those stories are what make it different here-it's what sells things," she said of the connection people can make by actually picturing a local person searching for sea glass on a nearby beach and lovingly crafting a trinket from it that can find its way into a shopper's hands.
Jewelry becomes a social as well as fashion endeavor in Mrs. Vhay's hands. "The idea for this store came from my experiences as a crafter and a consumer. I looked at the idea for the store and talked to a lot of women. Initially, I was going to open a place for just my work, as an artist, but try to find a rent that has parking and isn't in the back somewhere... . So, I thought of doing this. I saw so many jewelers that I loved, I just thought, 'What if there was a place where you could go, get good jewelry by local people and it was sold at reasonable prices?'" she thought.
She likens her store more to an ongoing craft fair than to other retail outlets where markups are often 50 percent or more. "Here you are buying directly from the artist," she said of the rent-share situation where she collects a small rent from each jeweler and they keep 90 percent of their selling prices.
Southbury seemed the perfect location for her intriguing shop "because it's arts-oriented and lots of people come here," she said. What she offers the artists is the opportunity to be seen by passers-by daily and that she acts as their representative. "The idea was to have a place where women can relax, sit down, have tea or coffee and not feel hurried-I want people to feel comfortable with no one hovering over them," she said.
Source: zwire
The shop, which opened Oct. 13, is the brainchild of jewelry maker Laura Vhay, who dreamed of having a place to showcase her work and the work of other artists she admired. It's also a place for friends to congregate and shop, sip or have a jewelry-making party that can be customized to suit girls, women, birthdays, bridal parties or other occasions. Mrs. Vhay hopes to begin hosting and teaching jewelry making classes soon and she is also renting formal jewelry for events and repairing and reworking existing pieces.
The Jewelry Café is a great place to shop for gifts because items can be found in all different styles and price points. Simple twisted wire rings featuring a single stone sell for about $15 and are perfect for teenagers; beaded bookmarks sell for $7 and would please a reader who doesn't love jewels; printed handbags trimmed in grosgrain ribbon are ideal for preppy styles and cost $40, and ornate enameled pieces suited to significant gift-giving occasions cost approximately $400-they are the most expensive items in the store. Purchases are wrapped and topped with a handmade truffle or gourmet cookie.
Mrs. Vhay is a tireless curator of jewelry, working to ensure that her artists are given an equal opportunity to sell pieces and that the jewelers she represents don't overlap too much in what they create. She has everything from delicate pieces molded from twigs and leaves to conservative pearl items to
organic-looking hammered silver hoops and cuffs. In the first week she was open, she was proud to report that all of her artists made sales.
The idea of people connecting, whether bringing together friends to create jewelry or connecting artisans with customers who love their work, seems as important to the shop owner as moving merchandise. She talks about her jewelers as friends and her logo features a cartoon of two women smiling and chatting over coffee at a cafe table.
With her shop, Mrs. Vhay hopes "to provide a conduit between the arts community and consumers in the Litchfield County area, whereby artists can build their business and consumers can reap the benefits of enjoying a handmade, often one-of-a-kind piece at reasonable prices with the added knowledge they are made right here in New England," according to her mission statement.
Though her store just opened a few weeks ago, Mrs. Vhay is no stranger to retail. She owned a similar business, Lulu Belle Gallery, in Monroe that represented all kinds of crafters, for several years in the 1990s.
The Jewelry Cafe is selling the work of about 20 jewelers but Mrs. Vhay intends to recruit about 15 more artisans. Those currently being carried in the shop include Angie Atkins, who crafts luminescent pieces with chips of ancient Roman glass; the KATYA line designed by two self-described "Baltic babes" who specialize in amber, amethyst, lapis lazuli, garnet, onyx and jade pieces; Eileen Clark's Odonata Jewelry featuring pieces of natural sea glass she finds on the Long Island Sound beaches near her Guilford home; Keith Lewis's line of wearable kinetic-sculpture earrings; Dragonfly Jewelry by Karen Zaorsky of Wolcott who uses Balinese silver, hand-torched lampwork glass, beads and found objects to create her line; Marcia Moore's intricate woven bead pieces; Soppas, the brainchild of Middletown metalsmith Denise DeStefano and Moodus artist Lisa Cassella, who together produce hammered metal items, and Kaitlin Stumpf, the youngest artist in the collective at a scant 7 years old, who creates the aforementioned bookmarks.
Mrs. Vhay loves to tell the backgrounds of her artists with shoppers and seems well-versed with each creator. "Everybody has a story, and those stories are what make it different here-it's what sells things," she said of the connection people can make by actually picturing a local person searching for sea glass on a nearby beach and lovingly crafting a trinket from it that can find its way into a shopper's hands.
Jewelry becomes a social as well as fashion endeavor in Mrs. Vhay's hands. "The idea for this store came from my experiences as a crafter and a consumer. I looked at the idea for the store and talked to a lot of women. Initially, I was going to open a place for just my work, as an artist, but try to find a rent that has parking and isn't in the back somewhere... . So, I thought of doing this. I saw so many jewelers that I loved, I just thought, 'What if there was a place where you could go, get good jewelry by local people and it was sold at reasonable prices?'" she thought.
She likens her store more to an ongoing craft fair than to other retail outlets where markups are often 50 percent or more. "Here you are buying directly from the artist," she said of the rent-share situation where she collects a small rent from each jeweler and they keep 90 percent of their selling prices.
Southbury seemed the perfect location for her intriguing shop "because it's arts-oriented and lots of people come here," she said. What she offers the artists is the opportunity to be seen by passers-by daily and that she acts as their representative. "The idea was to have a place where women can relax, sit down, have tea or coffee and not feel hurried-I want people to feel comfortable with no one hovering over them," she said.
Source: zwire
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