How have customers’ buying habits changed since you started selling homemade jewelry out of the back of your Volkswagen van in the early ’70s?
A: Women are doing more and more self-purchasing all the time. They’re also doing a lot more of the legwork, scouting it out and telling their husbands exactly what they want.
And for the first time, I’m coming out with a men’s collection this summer. It’s called Capture. It has rings, belt buckles, chains, cuff links. I’ve gotten so many requests for it through our stores, it’s unbelievable.
I never thought I’d be sitting here. I just had a passion for doing something with my hands, for being creative.
Q: Gold has been trading recently at record-high prices. Is that forcing you to use different metals in your jewelry?
A: Not really, but it is definitely changing the way I design. We’re going to have to be more creative – do things that look like my style but have less gold in them.
And obviously it is affecting the pricing. I think everyone is aware of gold prices. It’s a much more competitive market. In the diamond business, prices are going up as much as 2 percent a month. With prices changing that fast, it’s really keeping us on our toes. It’s putting a lot of pressure on me.
Q: Is it hard for an independent jeweler to compete with giant chains such as Zales?
A: I don’t really think they’re our competition. It’s more the designers like David Yurman, the luxury brands. And our competition is really ourselves, to design jewelry that has passion, heart, an identifiable look to it. We want to be set apart from the rest of the market.
Q: Which of your retail locations does the best business?
A: Park Meadows, as far as volume. It’s actually our smallest store in terms of square footage, but it’s just a great location. There is a ton of traffic at that mall.
We would really like to expand the number of stores we have. There are a lot of people who design and manufacture jewelry, but there aren’t many designers with their own chain of stores.
I would like to stay focused on the West. I was raised here. I was born at Rose Hospital; my two kids were born at Rose Hospital. We’re opening a second store in San Francisco in the Union Square area this fall. We also think Portland would be a good market, and Texas.
Q: Do you plan to start selling your jewelry online?
A: We are planning to launch an e-commerce site this fall, probably by the end of October. A lot of men are going to the Internet to purchase jewelry. Based on that trend, and based on the competition, we absolutely have to be accessible and have availability over e-commerce.
But a lot of planning has to go into it, a lot of execution. We have to put the right product up and have our backside covered in case things really pick up. More and more luxury items are being purchased online, so we definitely feel like it’s going to increase sales.
Q: Is it difficult to be an artist and a businessman?
A: I used to think that I could do both, that it was in my nature. But what I’ve found is that it’s the art that really makes me happy, so now I have a management team that runs the business. People think it’s a simple business, but I have 100 people working here.
I actually just started painting, and I love it. I’ve painted 36 paintings in the past two months – people, animals, objects. I’m sure someday I’ll sell them. I know we’re going to feature some of them in our Cherry Creek store in June.
I guess I’m a brand guy. I want my jewelry, my paintings, my art to be something that is very identifiable. And I’ve accomplished that.
Edited for space and clarity from an interview by staff writer Julie Dunn.
