Excerpted from “From Bench to Build-Out,” the lead feature in the upcoming March 2026 edition of INSTORE.
Everglow Jewelry, Tampa, FL
WHEN DERRICK PYKE SECURED a lease on a former pool supply store in Tampa, FL, in 2024, he and his wife Kayla faced a monumental task on a tight budget. The space needed to be completely stripped and rebuilt to become Everglow Jewelry.
Pyke had been eyeing an empty pool supply store with a for-rent sign for a while. Before he knew it would be his store, he and his wife, Kayla, began planning ideal layouts and paint colors with a simple design software to fit its dimensions, just in case. They wanted it to be bright, modern and casually cool.
When they secured the lease in May 2024, they got to work quickly.
The walls had been covered with so many hanging shelves screwed into them that when Pyke removed them, he was left with thousands of holes in the walls.
The walls had been covered with so many hanging shelves screwed into them that when Pyke removed them, he was left with thousands of holes in the walls.
To cut costs, they shopped for used equipment, waited for end-of-year sales, and hired friends for work they couldn’t do themselves, such as electrical. Instead of hiring interior designers or a construction crew, they did everything else themselves — a challenging and at times painful undertaking for Derrick, who suffered chronic back pain. But determination to achieve his dream kept him going.
“For our brand design, we used a professional graphic designer who is also our friend and former coworker,” Pyke says. “For the renovations, we had help from a huge base of talented friends in our community. For our store photos, we asked another former coworker and great friend.”
Pyke says it’s reasonable to assume he saved as much as $50,000 with his DIY efforts, although he did not obtain construction estimates before doing the work himself.
The grand opening was in September 2024. When someone compliments the store appearance, he tells them that his wife designed it. “If they ask if she is an interior designer I say, ‘No, she works in grants.’ After the massive effort this store took, I don’t think she is in any rush for a career change.”
EVERGLOW PHOTO GALLERY: (5 IMAGES)
Advertisement
