Headlines

A New ‘Jewelers Row’ Is Forming in This US City

Published

7 years ago

February 17, 2017

INSTORE Staff

It’s called the JV Collective.

A new “jewelers’ row” of sorts is taking shape in Philadelphia.

Five designers have formed the JV Collective, a studio that allows them to share equipment and keep operating costs down, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The women — Melanie Bilenker, Emily Cobb, Mallory Weston, Maria Eife and Leslie Boyd — share a 700-square-foot space in the Bok Building.

That’s about 2 miles from the city’s official Jewelers Row’, where a battle is underway between preservationsts and a developer.

The designers are pushing boundaries with their jewelry “in materials ranging from the familiar (gold, bronze) to the obscure (rope, nylon, human hair),” according to the Inquirer.

Could this jewelers’ row growth into something bigger?

Maybe so.

The newspaper reports that the designers have potentially created “a critical mass for this city’s new jewelry scene.”

Read more at the Philadelphia Inquirer

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”