Are In-Store Holiday Events Viable This Year? Our Brain Squad Weighs In

Yes: 50 %

• Evening celebration on a Friday night in October with drinks and hors d’oeuvre with the following weekend of special offerings and a festive vibe. — Ellie Thompson, Ellie Thompson + Co., Chicago
• I said yes, but it’s probably “maybe,” depending on what happens with the virus. — Nancy & Pierre Plante, Plante Jewelers, Swansea, MA
• At least a holiday estate jewelry event, and perhaps one other specialty event like color stones, pearl show or wedding band event. — Laura Stanley, Laura Stanley Personal Jeweler, North Little Rock, AR
• HUGE open house the first Friday in December. Then a men’s night around Dec. 22 and a ladies’ night around Dec. 27. — Pamela Hecht, Pamations, Calumet, MI
• Trunk shows, as usual. Nothing to bring too many people in at the same time, unless, poof!, and the virus goes away. — Richard Frank, Goldstein’s Mobile, AL
• Our annual three-day anniversary event is in November. The first night is for our best customers, with swag bags, cocktails and nibbles. In 2020, our customers booked one-hour appointments, and we could have up to four clients at a time in the store with government regulations. We weren’t sure how it would work, but the first customer through the door bought enough items that she did half our usual first night total in one transaction! We ended up almost tripling our usual amount! We’re never going back to the old way! We had one staff member for each customer and believe the one-on-one service is what made the event so successful. — Sandra Locken, Sarini Fine Jewellery, Vulcan, Alberta, Canada
• We are hoping things will be safe enough to hold events in the fall/winter. We do an annual pre-holiday sale, and last year we tried to limit the number of guests in the store so everyone felt safe. We will do that, we booked an estate jeweler to come in with a celebrity collection, we have a diamond event scheduled, and we will host an estate buying event. If you don’t do things to bring in business, you will get lost in the shuffle. — Michael Kanoff, Michael’s Jewelers, Yardley, PA
• We are celebrating 50 years in business, so we will have several events surrounding that along with ladies’ and men’s nights and our annual Christmas sales event. — Tom Schowalter, Miners Den Jewelers, Royal Oak, MI
• We hope to host our annual anniversary party, which typically falls the week after Thanksgiving. This year we will host the event in our new space in the Pearl District. The event is exclusive to our customers and is held in the evening as a cocktail party event. We highlight a coveted restaurant as our catering and serve fabulous signature cocktails. However, with constant changes, we will need to wait to see if our hopes for a beautiful event will be able to happen. — Ronnie Malka, Malka Diamonds & Jewelry, Portland, OR
• I hold a trunk show about every four months to show my customers what’s new. They love it because we have raffles and drink specials. — Karen Hollis, K. Hollis Jewelers, Batavia, IL

No: 50 %

• Our community has flipped between extremes. The virus is gone, parties and fun! The virus is back, fear and takeout. We want to plan events, but we’ve tried and people were afraid to come. — Debbie Fox, Fox Fine Jewelry, Ventura, CA
• COVID and anti-vaxxers will hold us back from normal plans. — Steve Wardle, Forest Beach Design, Chatham, MA
• Not this year. Too busy to arrange an event. Might do a pop-up sidewalk sale. — Scott Lefcourt, Scottsdale Fine Jewelers, Scottsdale, AZ
• I have no help. Just me. Can’t really put on an event and sell with individual attention at the same time. — Janne Etz, Contemporary Concepts, Cocoa, FL
• Never have. Don’t see a reason to now. Then again, my store holds me and three people (if they are closely related). — James Doggett, Doggett Jewelry, Kingston, NH
• Custom work is demanding of time. There is no time for events. — J Mason Cutchin, JMason Custom Jeweler, Chapel Hill, NC
• I’ve never had much luck with in-store events. — Mary Pillsbury, Mary Pillsbury Co., Frontenac, MO
• Waiting for the pandemic to be OVER. — Cathy Miller, Caleesi Designs Jewelers, Austin
• I’ve had trouble drawing clients to special events. — Brett Whitaker, Robison Jewelry, Fernandina Beach, FL
• Unless I can find help, I will have to go to appointment-only as a closed showroom. — Patty Gallun Hansen, Dorothy Gallun Jewelry, Cedarburg, WI