WEEK 20
19 weeks passed | 33 weeks remain
May 18 — Monday
Today’s Quote: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” — designer William Morris
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Tina Fey (1970, comedian, writer, “30 Rock,” “Mean Girls,” anchor of Weekend Update on SNL), George Strait (1952, country music legend, “Ace in the Hole,” more No. 1 hits than any artist in any genre), Pete Townshend (1945, guitarist and songwriter, The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”), Pope John Paul II (1920–2005, born on this day, canonized 2014)
MANAGEMENT: That William Morris quote — “useful or beautiful” — is a useful test for your cases too. Walk each one today and ask it of every piece. Not every item will pass both. But if something is neither useful to your customer nor beautiful to any eye, why is it still there? The edit is overdue.
WEEKLY SPIFF: Launch this week’s game: the associate who books the most custom or repair consultations by Friday wins. Post-Mother’s Day is prime time for repairs, restorations, and redesigns — customers just got jewelry as gifts and are looking at what else they own.
STRATEGY: If you’re attending JCK Las Vegas, you’re about five weeks out. Pull your open-to-buy, review your last 12 months of sales data, and identify your top three goals for the show. Goal one: restock proven sellers. Goal two: find one new category or vendor. Goal three: solve a gap in your cases you’ve been ignoring.
FEATURED DATE: International Museum Day. More than 37,000 museums in 158 countries open their doors free or at reduced cost today. The hook for your store: museums put beautiful things under glass and tell their stories. So do you. A social post connecting your craft to the idea of curation — “Every piece in our cases has a story” — is a low-effort, high-resonance play.
MORE DATES: International Museum Day, National Speech Pathologist Day, Visit Your Relatives Day (a gentle push for a clienteling call to a family-oriented customer)
May 19 — Tuesday
Today’s Quote: “The road to hell is not paved with good intentions. It is paved with lack of intention.” — physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Malcolm X (1925–1965, civil rights leader and activist, born on this day), Sam Smith (1992, Grammy and Oscar-winning British singer, “Stay with Me,” “Writing’s on the Wall”), Joey Ramone (1951–2001, frontman of The Ramones, punk rock pioneer), Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969, Vietnamese revolutionary leader — born on this day)
SALES MEETING: Topic: the graduation sale. Who’s graduating in your customer base this month — high school or college? Who has a grandchild, niece, nephew, or child crossing the stage? Run through your client list and pull 10 names. A text that says “Congratulations on your granddaughter’s graduation — we have something perfect under $100” is not a sales pitch. It’s a service call.
MARKETING: Pull together a “Graduation Gift Guide” — three price points, three pieces each. Post it this week. Email it next week. Pin it to your website. Graduation gifting is impulsive and deadline-driven; remove as much friction as possible and buyers will convert.
LEGAL: Review your employee policies this week — zero-tolerance guidelines for theft, drug and alcohol use. If you haven’t looked at them since you wrote them, they may no longer be legally enforceable. A 30-minute call with your attorney costs far less than a situation that could have been prevented.
MORE DATES: Malcolm X Day (observed in some states), National May Ray Day — first sunny afternoon of the week, step outside for five minutes, National Devil’s Food Cake Day
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May 20 — Wednesday
Today’s Quote: “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.” — author Carlos Castaneda
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Cher (1946, singer, actress, pop icon, “Believe,” “If I Could Turn Back Time,” “Moonstruck” —happy 80th!), Busta Rhymes (1972, rapper, “Break Ya Neck,” “Look at Me Now”), Honoré de Balzac (1799, French novelist, “La Comédie Humaine” — born on this day)
FEATURED DATE: Cher’s 80th Birthday. A genuine cultural moment. One of the most decorated and durable entertainers of the last 60 years — and famously a jewelry lover. Her bold, layered, statement-piece aesthetic defined an era. A social post celebrating her birthday with a nod to her signature style (“big jewelry, no apologies”) is practically ready-made. If you carry anything with that maximalist flair — large pendants, chunky gold, bold turquoise — today’s the day to show it.
DISPLAY: Eliza Doolittle Day (from “My Fair Lady”) is today — the fictional date when Eliza proves she’s mastered her transformation. Use it as a display prompt: pull one piece from the back that deserves a front-row spotlight. Sometimes a piece just needs better light, a new neighbor in the case, or a fresh card to finally move.
TRAINING: Run a “first impression” drill this week. Have a staff member walk in as a customer while another plays the associate. Watch the first 30 seconds — the greeting, the body language, the eye contact. The opening sets everything. If it’s weak, the rest of the sale is uphill.
MORE DATES: World Bee Day (honey, amber, and beeswax jewelry — if you carry any, now is a fine time to feature it), National Rescue Dog Day, Be a Millionaire Day
May 21 — Thursday
Today’s Quote: “You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go.” — politician Jeannette Rankin
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Mr. T (1952, actor, “The A-Team,” “Rocky III” — and famously the man who made gold chains a cultural statement), Judge Reinhold (1956, actor, “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” —happy 70th!), The Notorious B.I.G. (1972–1997, rapper, “Juicy,” “Big Poppa” — born on this day), Al Franken (1951, comedian, author, and former U.S. Senator)
FEATURED DATE: Shavuot begins at sundown. The Jewish harvest festival, celebrating the giving of the Torah — observed with Torah study, dairy foods, and family. A respectful acknowledgment in your social media, or a nod to customers observing the holiday, is a small gesture that registers with your community. Diamonds have long been associated with Jewish bridal and lifecycle traditions; if it’s relevant to your clientele, lean in gently.
MANAGEMENT: Mr. T wore reportedly 30–40 pounds of gold jewelry as a personal signature. Whatever you think of the aesthetic, he understood something about jewelry and identity: a bold piece tells the world who you are before you say a word. Use that angle in a social post today.
TRAINING: That Jeannette Rankin quote is about managing a team. You can set the vision, build the systems, and provide the training — but you can’t want it more than they do. Identify the one person on your team who could go further if they just believed they could. Have that conversation this week.
MORE DATES: National Waitstaff Day (tip generously today — and consider the service professionals in your customer base who’d love a piece of jewelry as recognition), National Talk Like Yoda Day, World Day for Cultural Diversity
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May 22 — Friday
Today’s Quote: “Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” — poet Lord Byron
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Arthur Conan Doyle (1859, author, creator of Sherlock Holmes — born on this day), Naomi Campbell (1970, supermodel, fashion icon), Harvey Milk (1930–1978, politician and LGBTQ+ rights activist — born on this day), Richard Wagner (1813, opera composer, “The Ring Cycle” — born on this day)
WEEKLY SPIFF PAYOUT: Count this week’s custom and repair consultations. Announce the winner. If anyone booked a custom job worth more than $500 this week, recognize that specifically — it takes skill and confidence to guide a customer through a custom conversation.
FEATURED DATE: Shavuot (first full day). See May 21 note.
MARKETING: World Goth Day. Darker aesthetics — black diamonds, onyx, oxidized silver, hematite, marcasite — have a real and growing customer base. A social post acknowledging the day with some of your more dramatic pieces is a low-effort way to signal that your store isn’t just for traditional tastes. You might be surprised who responds.
LOOKING AHEAD: Father’s Day is three weeks out — June 21. If you haven’t started building your Father’s Day push, start this weekend. Men’s jewelry, watches, engraved pieces, and gift cards are your core plays. Email draft should be ready to send next week.
MORE DATES: World Goth Day, National Maritime Day, Harvey Milk Day (California), International Day for Biological Diversity
May 23 — Saturday
Today’s Quote: “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.” — novelist Louis L’Amour
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Drew Carey (1958, comedian, host of “The Price Is Right,” “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”), Joan Collins (1933, actress, “Dynasty,” still working, a true original), Jewel (1974, singer-songwriter, “You Were Meant for Me,” “Hands”), Rosemary Clooney (1928–2002, singer and actress, “White Christmas” — born on this day)
FEATURED DATE: National Lucky Penny Day. Simple and fun: tape a penny to the door of your store today with a small sign — “Take a lucky penny, leave a lucky penny.” It’s a nothing gesture that makes people smile and remember you. Or: run a social post about the luckiest piece in your case and what it means to the person who owned it.
OPERATIONS: Busy Saturday in the lead-up to Memorial Day weekend. Brief your team this morning on the two or three pieces you most want to move. A 60-second pre-open standup is worth more than a memo.
CLIENTELING: World Turtle Day. It’s a stretch, but: tortoiseshell (faux, of course), carved bone, natural materials, and vintage pieces with organic textures have a dedicated following. If you have any, today’s a fine peg to feature them on social.
MORE DATES: World Turtle Day, National Lucky Penny Day, National Taffy Day, Shavuot ends at nightfall (Diaspora)
May 24 — Sunday
Today’s Quote: “Some men see things as they are and say why — I dream things that never were and say why not.” — playwright George Bernard Shaw
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Bob Dylan (1941, singer-songwriter, Nobel Prize in Literature, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “The Times They Are a-Changin'” —happy 85th!), Patti LaBelle (1944, soul and R&B legend, “Lady Marmalade,” “New Attitude”), Roseanne Barr (1952, comedian and actress), Queen Victoria (1819–1901, born on this day — the monarch who popularized the white wedding dress and cemented diamond engagement rings in Western culture)
FEATURED DATE: Bob Dylan’s 85th Birthday. The Nobel Prize-winning songwriter whose work has been recorded by more than 2,000 artists. With the biopic “A Complete Unknown” (starring Timothée Chalamet) still fresh in the cultural memory, Dylan is having a moment with younger audiences. His birthday is a fine occasion for a social post — a favorite lyric, a photo of something in your case that matches the mood of a song. (“She wears an Egyptian ring / That sparkles before she speaks” — he knew his jewelry.)
FEATURED DATE: National Tiara Day. An actual holiday that requires almost no creativity to activate: put a tiara in your window, post a photo, invite customers to come in and try one on. Bridal customers, prom moms, little girls, and grown women who simply want to feel crowned for a day. It never fails.
FEATURED DATE: Pentecost (Whitsunday). Observed across many Christian denominations — a significant day in the liturgical calendar. Cross pendants, confirmation jewelry, and religious charms are worth a quiet spotlight for customers observing the day.
MORE DATES: Pentecost (Whitsunday), National Tiara Day, National Brother’s Day (early Father’s Day angle — brothers buy jewelry too), National Scavenger Hunt Day
QUOTE FOR THE WEEK: “The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” —Eden Phillpotts. Memorial Day weekend starts Friday. Your best customers are about to have three days off. Make sure they know where to find you.
