EDITOR’S NOTE
Their inspiration comes not so much from where they are now but how they got there.
BY EILEEN McCLELLAND
Published in the August 2014 issue
Ta-da! I’m excited to introduce the 2014 lineup of America’s Coolest Stores this month.
Yes, sometimes, I know, it may be hard to relate to “the cools.” Maybe you’re not ready to build a $2.5 million, architecturally distinctive store as Jay Klos did last year in Florence, AL. Or even spend a more modest amount on personalizing a rented space like David Iler did in 2005 in Portland, OR.
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But remember that it took years for them to be ready, too. They paid their dues before achieving their dreams.
Jay grew up in the jewelry business but went the wholesale route before unexpectedly finding his dream job as owner of a downtown jewelry store. When commerce shifted to the edge of town, he took a chance and leaped. Grogan Jewelers was featured in a series that appeared in INSTORE in 2012 and 2013. Jay shared with our readers the steps he took to build his destination store — from groundbreaking to his grand-opening party in June 2013, to which I was chauffeured in the store’s vintage Rolls Royce!
David had a successful career as a welder before finding jewelry to be a new calling — one suggested by his fishing buddies. He kept his day job while he apprenticed, unpaid, with a jeweler for two years, and opened his own store after paying his dues as a goldsmith in another. I felt privileged this summer to visit Alchemy, where David and his partner, Laura Mapes, demonstrated the kind of hospitality that endear them to their customers, who visit Alchemy for its personal touch as well as its artistic flair.
Eileen McClelland
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Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
