Chicago--In 50 Jewelers/50 States, National Jeweler interviews one retailer in each of the 50 U.S. states to find out how they are meeting the challenges of the changing retail environment.
Sparkles Fine Jewelry opened in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in 2013.
Owner Rachel Meyering “fell in love with the jewelry industry” after working retail at a family friend’s jewelry store when she was 18.
“It was exciting to see people get engaged, and other happy moments like anniversaries and birthdays,” she said.
After college, and several retail and wholesale jobs, she opened Sparkles Fine Jewelry.
National Jeweler chatted with Meyering about being a millennial business owner and carving out a niche in the LGBT market.
Opened in September 2013 in Chicago, Sparkles Fine Jewelry is approximately 800 square feet and has two full-time and two part-time employees.
National Jeweler: What’s the biggest challenge your store is facing?
Rachel Meyering: When you open, you’re starting from scratch, so you really have to try and get customers into the store.
It’s something that’s starting to pay off, but still we’re trying to get more customers who know us. I think in our neighborhood of Andersonville a lot of people know that we’re here but Chicago is so huge so we’re trying to branch a little bit outside of Andersonville as well.
NJ: What’s the top-selling category and brand at your store?
RM: Right now, we do really well with earrings and also we’re doing a lot of custom-designed pieces, mostly engagement rings.
I think people want something that’s a little different. The whole process is very exciting: to have someone see the wax mold and the digital images and you’re creating a one-of-a-kind piece. So we’ve been doing really well with custom.
In Chicago not everyone is so obsessed with brands. It’s more about what fits in with their everyday life, what is the style. We don’t really have name brands. We do carry Citizen watches but I think as far as earrings, pendants, things like that, I think people concentrate on style more than brands.
NJ: Describe your regional customer.
RM: Probably kind of mid-20s to late 30s. We’re also in an area that has a large LGBT population, so I would say at least half, if not more, of our customers are gay, which is very different than the rest of the jewelry industry, that’s for sure.
an environment where people feel welcome, and it’s very exciting with laws changing and that gay couples can now get married. We’re extremely well-known in Chicago for that and a lot of people tell their friends to come here. We have many referrals, which we’re very thankful about.
NJ: Did you intentionally target the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender market?
RM: When I started the store, I picked up Rony Tennenbaum, who is a designer in New York who focuses on the gay market. The press kind of picked up that we were opening the store and carrying this designer.
Moving forward, a lot of our customers, especially in the area, are gay and when they came in they felt extremely comfortable. We’ve done a little bit of advertising, and we’ve done some of the street festivals. There’s a street festival in Boystown, which is a gay area, and we brought a few bracelets and so we’re kind of getting the word out too.
We’ve done a little bit of marketing but I think mostly it’s been word of mouth. In the beginning our clientele was more men, but now we’re seeing more women.
Owner Rachel MeyeringNJ: What engagement ring trends are you seeing?
RM: We’re doing really well with rose gold right now. Mostly, classic pieces but some people do want to customize a little bit. We’re still doing a few halos, but for the majority we’re doing more rose than white gold, which doesn’t usually happen.
We have mostly round diamond center stones. We do a few cushion cuts as well.
Recently, we’ve done two moissanites, which we’ve never done before. Some people want to have the look but stay within their budget and we’re very genuine people--it’s whatever we can do to help to get that look that you want.
NJ: What’s your social media presence like? What accounts do you have or actively use?
RM: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. We probably do a little more on Instagram than the others. My full-time employee, Claire, is amazing at taking pictures so she is in charge of all of that.
Being an owner, you want to oversee everything but at the same time if someone has a passion for something or is extremely good at it, you kind of want to let them be in charge of it and let them do their own thing. With Claire being here, we’ve noticed a larger Instagram presence.
NJ: Do you have e-commerce?
RM: We don’t have e-commerce. Most people go on our website and look around to see what we have and then come in the store.
Jewelry is very personal, and I think there are so many different e-commerce sites where you can go and click and have things shipped to you, but we’re a neighborhood jeweler and it’s just a little bit of a different feeling when you come in the store rather than just buying something online.
NJ: What’s the best piece of advice you’d offer to other independent jewelry stores?
RM: The best piece of advice is really to be genuine and try to make a friend when someone walks into the store.
There are some not-so-great salespeople out there. I’m always trying to learn different things, so whenever I go into a store I always try to see how someone is trying to sell me something, and I connect best with people who are down-to-earth, genuine and asking the right questions.
Spend some time and just really try to get to know yourself and also how people react. You want to be a genuine person and if it’s hard for you, try.
NJ: As a millennial business owner, how do you think your management style differs from those you’ve worked under at different jewelry stores?
RM: I have more of a laid-back personality. I see the goodness in people, and I can tell what my employees are really strong at, so if they want to try something new or different, I’m all for it.
You have to try different things. Otherwise, you’re not going to get anywhere. There’s a lot of people out there who keep doing the same thing over and over again, and don’t listen to their employees and don’t try new things. And you’re not going to get anywhere like that.
So you’re going to have to try new things and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. It’s trial and error in this business.
NJ: What’s a fun fact about you we can share with our readers?
RM: We have many funny stories, including the only time the panic button was ever used.
Our bathroom is in the back and we had a couple who had just purchased some wedding bands and the man asked to use our restroom. So we escorted him there.
For some reason, the man pulled on the panic alarm--maybe thinking it was an air freshener--so about two minutes later we had the cops flying down the street.
He finally came out and the cops came back into the store and the girls (who work here) were like, “It wasn’t us.”
I feel like we have crazy bathroom stories.
Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.
