- We loved having a mature woman on the cover [of the October issue]. Kudos, INSTORE! — Debbie Fox, Fox Fine Jewelry, Ventura, CA
- Planning a few big events for our clients as a “thank you” for staying with us through the years and making sure they know we value them. Thank you for keeping this publication going!! I look forward to it every day in my inbox. My staff looks at it too and stays aware of the latest trends and crimes. — Cindi Haddad-Drew, Cindi’s Diamond & Jewelry Gallery, Foxboro, MA
- Every year, there is something to stress us out about the coming holiday season. This year with unrest in the world is no different. Keeping positive and not letting those fears creep into your mind has helped me for the past 43 years with hopefully many more to go! — Susan Eisen, Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry & Watches, El Paso, TX
- What a crazy world we live in right now. I hope the holidays bring some peace and kindness to people. I have to keep reminding myself of the song “We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel. “It was always burning since the world’s been turning.” Good reminder to keep trucking and we’ll make it through as we have before. — Marc Majors, Sam L. Majors, Midland, TX
- I think this year has been a bit of a struggle and it’s reassuring to know that others are in similar boats. It makes me feel a little more confident that we will all get through this. — Becky Bettencourt, Blue River Diamonds, Peabody, MA
- We love you all. Maybe a story about how to deal with the world worries. We are all OK, but it’s hard to sleep with all that’s going on. — Sherrie Schilling-Devaney, Sherrie’s Jewelry Box, Tigard, OR
- I work with my wife, and the other day, she said she was going to embrace her mistakes. I said, finally! She then gave me a hug. — Rick Nichols, Nassau Jewelry, Fernandina Beach, FL
- In-store experiences with clients are so much better then online, but I’m shocked how many new online recommendations we get. — Marc Solomon, Solomon’s Fine Jewelry, Plainview, NY
- Every year, I find one more reason to be grateful that I am to be in this business. We are allowed, no, often invited into the most intimate moments in our customer’s lives. I’d like to share a great story I’ve reflected on and told many times. A mom with two teenage kids walks into the store. When I wait on them, they have several pieces of what looks to be twisted aluminum wire in a baggie. This family, as a unit, then begins to explain that these 7 pieces of wire held their father’s chest together after a nearly fatal emergency open-heart surgery. In the thick of the moment, the family encircled the critically ill father, praying for intercession on his behalf. The serious operation was touch and go for a while, but with time, the beloved father recovered. Now they wanted me to create a cross from these pieces of twisted wire that the doctors used to close his chest. Deeply humbled that they came to me, I accepted the challenge. Please let it be known I was scared to death to touch the wires. There is only a limited supply of material, I cannot go and get more if I mess up. Those 7 pieces of twisted wire sat on my bench for weeks until the method became crystal clear. I got twist ties, looked at the wire without changing anything, created 7 identical pieces. Then carefully I twisted and interwove the broken pieces into one cross. Then I took 14K white gold and made an outline with touch points were I could laser the interior to the frame.
There are magical moments when your hands produce what the heart desires and in doing so, go above and beyond the standard level of customer service.
When the family was called to view the finished piece, it was a stupendous moment. In seconds they were all transported back to the mayhem and fear of that moment when they found themselves in an unreal situation. While everyone was admiring the cross and tucking away tears, the father held the cross in his hand and everyone put their hands under his, once again to support the unit. It was a very moving moment, the war, the warrior and the WIN all done with the love and unwavering support of his family. — Denise Oros, Linnea Jewelers, La Grange, IL
ERRATUM
In our last issue, we mistakenly included the wrong captions for the jewelry featured in “Star Power.” These were the correct captions:
1. Retrouvai 14K gold one of-a-kind pendant with a bicolor tourmaline in hand-cut carnelian on classic link chain. retrouvai.com , $12,436
2. Sorellina handcrafted 18K yellow gold Nomad necklace with 5.18-carat oval emerald on oval link chain. sorellinanyc.com, $11,000
3. Maria Beaulieu 18K yellow gold pendant with emerald-cut dark blue aquamarine (chain sold separately). instagram.com/maria.beaulieu.jewelry, $3,800
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