Small-Town Jewelry Store Has Oversized Presence in Montana

Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry, Glendive, MT

OWNER: Katelynne and Jayson Eslick; URL: sugarplumfinejewelry.com; FOUNDED: 2013; Opened featured location: 2023; EMPLOYEES: 4; AREA: 8,800 square feet; TOP BRANDS: Katelynne Eslick Designs, Stuller, Brevani, Legends Jewelry, Sterling Reputation; ONLINE PRESENCE: 18,000 Facebook followers

Katelynne and Jayson Eslick

KATELYNNE & JAYSON ESLICK had spent years planning to build their dream jewelry store in Glendive, MT, but faced numerous roadblocks beyond their control.

While driving past the local landmark 1907 Krug Mansion, Katelynne had an epiphany: “I’m going to buy the mansion!” Jayson asked, “Is it even for sale?” Katelynne replied, “No, but I want you to understand I’m going to buy the mansion!”

When Jayson considered it, he realized she was right. They both had always loved the building and had a general idea of what it would cost.

After approaching the owner with an offer, they waited on pins and needles for three weeks for an answer. “It was hard to think about anything else, but when we got the buy-sell, we knew it would be perfect,” Jayson says.

Preserving History While Creating Commerce

Originally built as a private home, the 8,800-square-foot building on the National Historic Register opened as Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry in 2023. Because the space was so well maintained, they made minimal architectural changes, focusing instead on paint, gutters, windows and lighting. “We didn’t want to open or take down any walls because it’s beautiful and historical,” Katelynne explains, “and we found
out we didn’t need to.”

They hired local professionals for wall treatments and custom showcases that complement the mansion’s vintage appeal. The renovation preserves the original woodwork, including floors, trim, decorative columns, and solid tiger walnut pocket doors.

The mansion’s residential rooms have been transformed into cozy, themed jewelry boutiques: The Turquoise Boutique houses new and vintage turquoise jewelry in Western and Southwestern style. The Sapphire Suite is in the parlor with an original fireplace, showcasing Montana gems. The Engagement Boutique is set in the sitting room. The Color Room displays one-of-a-kind custom designs and gemstone jewelry.

The main floor also contains a private design/consultation office and repair shop. Upper floors accommodate a photography studio, shipping and receiving, and guest rooms for visiting family and friends. The basement features an antique bank vault, where a wine cellar is under construction. Outside, the courtyard serves as an event space for small weddings and private events, which they envision as a second business.

“Part of the reason it works so well is we’re the only jewelry store in a 60-mile radius,” Katelynne says, “and we offer something for everyone.”

Finding Her Path: A Circuitous Route to Success

Katelynne, daughter and granddaughter of jewelers, was nicknamed Sugar Plum by her mother, Cyndi Sharples, and grew up as one of nine siblings in small-town Montana. Her jewelry career started remarkably early — she sold her first diamond in her parents’ store at age 3 and wore her own diamond ring to kindergarten.

“I went through my dad’s scrap gold box and found a gold and diamond ring, and I asked him if I could have it. He told me I could earn it,” she says. “I earned it by the end of the day. I was wearing a half-carat ring when I was 5 years old. I do think that plays into my lifelong thought that ‘You should just have that, whatever it is. It’s pretty on you and you should own it.’”

Despite her family background, Katelynne’s career path wasn’t straightforward. “On paper, it makes so much sense that I own a jewelry store,” she says. “But I fell into it almost backward.”

After her family’s store closed when she was young, she graduated college with a business management degree and worked as a creative ad designer. Jewelry-making began as a hobby in 2005 at her kitchen table, and she sold her pieces at summer art fairs. Eventually, the demands of balancing a full-time job, raising children, and creating custom jewelry became overwhelming.

“We realized if we took the day care costs out and I quit my full-time job, we could make jewelry work. Then the business grew itself and suddenly I needed a store.”

In 2013, with her three children in school full-time, Katelynne opened Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry’s first brick-and-mortar location with 700 square feet of showroom space. She initially worked alone, and her father, James Sharples, helped with repairs and appraisals.

In 2017, as the business expanded, Jayson left his law enforcement career to apprentice as a jeweler. That was Katelynne’s idea, too, based on her intuitive belief he’d be great at it.

“When we first talked about it, he was nervous about the idea,” she says. “He said, ‘I’m not that creative.’ But I told him that to fix things, to make things right again, you don’t necessarily need to be creative in the way I am creative. I knew he would be good. He’s very particular about things. When it became clear he was good at it and it was a natural thing, I had to say, ‘I told you so.’”

Jayson said it also made financial sense to him. “I’d been in law enforcement, which was a high-stress career,” he says. “It got to the point where my wife was making more money than I was, which is totally cool. But I wondered, how can we advance that and make it make sense for the family? Katelynne’s father, who’d been a goldsmith for 40 years, moved to Glendive and started working in the store. I began training under him, learning to be a goldsmith. It came naturally.”

With Jayson aboard, business continued to grow, the store seemed too small, and they knew they needed to build or find a larger space.

The Turquoise Boutique is decorated in a Southwestern motif.

A Personal Approach to Marketing

Katelynne nurtures her young staff, helping them develop their strengths. One team member works as a photographer one day a week for social media and marketing. Another designs jewelry for the store.

“Our staff is all young,” she notes. “We’re ‘elder millennials,’ but our full-time staff are all in their early 20s. This helps us keep on top of trends, especially in social media.”

They strive to keep marketing consistent, fun and relatable. It’s a mix of traditional media, including radio, in which Katelynne voices the ads, and channels like Facebook Live, where she hosts a fun, educational series called “Hey, Kate!” She talks about her day, what’s on her desk, what she’s working on, etc.

Their Facebook page has 18,000 followers.

“I had a customer come in and say, ‘You must be Kate, I recognize your voice from the radio. When I heard your voice, I knew I wanted to do business with you!’ Something as simple as that, that you wouldn’t necessarily think would be so important, really is. I do as much of that as possible.”

Multiple forms of marketing reach people in many different ways; some people enjoy direct mail, others respond best to social media or prefer a digital format.

Anything they market as an in-store event will also have an online component so nobody gets left out.

As the only jewelry store in Glendive, they serve customers across a 90–120-mile radius.

“It can be a challenge,” Katelynne says. “It’s a wide demographic, but it’s interesting keeping up with everything everyone wants or needs.”

Five Cool Things About Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry

1. Design inspiration. “A lot of times designs show up in my mind fully formed,” Katelynne says. Her Montana Sky Collection draws inspiration from photographs of sunsets, sunrises, and skies at different times of day, using Montana sapphires to capture those color variations. Architecture and its interesting shapes also influence her jewelry designs.

2. Customer service philosophy. “Our goal for customer experience always comes down to one word: ‘Luxury,’” Katelynne explains. “With my team, we approach every customer interaction by asking, ‘How can we make this customer feel like the most important person in the room?’” Their approach includes greeting guests within three seconds, offering drinks to visitors, providing access to rare and unique items, and delivering luxury goods and experiences.

3. Marketing the mansion. The historic building itself serves as a powerful marketing asset. Katelynne and Jayson offer tours of the main floor to anyone interested. “We want people to come into the store just because we want them to see the building,” Katelynne says. “If they become a customer, that’s great. Where else do you get to buy jewelry in a mansion?”

4. Community investment. “One of the things we love about Glendive is it feels small enough that we can make a difference,” says Katelynne. In 2017, she coined the phrase “I Believe in Glendive,” distributing 3,000 buttons and selling merchandise with proceeds benefiting local beautification efforts. Their community involvement has earned a commendation from Montana’s governor, recognition as Placemaker of the Year by Montana Ambassadors (2021), and the Cornerstone Award from the Chamber of Commerce (2022). They support local organizations, including Boys and Girls Club, Community Cancer Fund, Hospital Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.

5. The event landscape. Sugar Plum hosts events for 60-75 people, including ladies’ nights and educational events like a Sapphire Soiree about Montana sapphires. Their November ladies’ night includes gift bags for the first 50 attendees, which go fast.

PHOTO GALLERY (12 IMAGES)