OWNERS: Jennifer Gandia and Christina Gandia Gambale; URL: greenwichjewelers.com; FOUNDED: 1976; OPENED FEATURED LOCATION: 2022; AREA: 1,550 square feet; ARCHITECT AND DESIGN: MAOarch, Wield Creative; TOP BRANDS: Alice Cicolini, Eva Fehren, Jamie Joseph, Lorraine West, Marla Aaron, Single Stone, Sylva & Cie, TEN THOUSAND THINGS, WWake; EMPLOYEES: 17; ONLINE PRESENCE: 89,000 followers on Instagram; 620 Google reviews with 4.9 Star average

Sisters Jennifer Gandia and Christina Gandia Gambale; PHOTO CREDIT: Alain Simic

SISTERS JENNIFER GANDIA and Christina Gandia Gambale were inspired by elements of residential design for their new Greenwich St. Jewelers store in Tribeca, and the concept was so successful that their clients now say they want to live there.

That residential vibe began with the selection of their space in a neighborhood that’s a comfortable mix of residential and commercial with a strong community feel, the kind of community their parents Carl and Milly Gandia knew when they opened the original Greenwich Jewelers in the Financial District in 1976, after emigrating from Puerto Rico.

Retail neighbors in Tribeca are an eclectic mix that include the Balloon Saloon party supplies and gifts; Korin, a Japanese cutlery store patronized by chefs; the Mysterious Book Shop; lifestyle and fashion businesses, children’s stores, galleries and restaurants.

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The new Greenwich St. opened last year on Reade Street in the city’s second oldest cast iron building, known as the Obsidian House, built in 1857. The original facade has been carefully restored and the upper floors are all residential. “The space itself we knew was the right space right away,” says Jennifer Gandia. “Something just felt right. The historical and beautiful architecture of Tribeca appealed to us.”

They wanted it to feel luxurious, but not pretentious.

“We wanted the store to feel very downtown New York and welcoming and homey, and in New York that means an apartment,” Gandia says. “It was all about creating a concept that felt warm and energizing with bright color and sumptuous fabrics. We didn’t want a sterile, neutral store.”

Senior marketing manager Grace Barretti describes the color scheme as acid brights mixing with pastels and jewel tones in a playful yet sophisticated way. Showcases feature a variety of finishes, and jewelry forms designed by Wield Creative complement the color explosion. The bathroom’s vibrant gingko leaf tiles reference the sisters’ Puerto Rican ancestry while offering another aesthetic surprise.

Mirroring the layout of a classic New York City railroad apartment, the space is divided into rooms that showcase the work of 40-plus independent designers.

“These were the kind of apartments you saw a lot in tenement buildings, rooms all in one line,” Gandia says. “That in itself is very New York.”

Typically, a foyer flows into living room, kitchen, dining room and finally, a more intimate bedroom space at the back.

In this case, a collection of Jamie Joseph rings in an eye-catching pink display beckons to visitors in the entry foyer and immediately invites them to play with the jewelry and try something on. “There is a different threshold in each room and an element of discovery, which is why there are a lot of different elements in the store, different surfaces, a lot of colors,” Gandia says.

The second room beckons with a sumptuous velvet couch and in the third, a large central showcase conjures images of a formal dining room.

Toward the back, there’s space for custom consultations as well as a private room with glass doors off to the side that represents an outdoor terrace. Overhead lighting is carefully crafted to appear natural. “I think our lighting guy was an artist,” says Gandia. “The lighting in this store, if I do say so myself, is spectacular. You don’t notice it, and that’s the point.”

The original brick arch was the inspiration for using a repeating arch motif to organize the space and create drama.

Ultimately each room was a puzzle piece, or square in a quilt, that had its own smaller unique personality but when all paired together they sing in unison, noted Nico Pallotto, senior associate with MAOarch Architecture.

The store design and material selections demanded a willingness to take risks and cultivate a sense of adventure. Surfaces include lacquer, tabor, a dyed wood facade on the cash wrap, engineered oak plank on the floor, with a layer of reclaimed oak. “We have velvet, we have neon. And it’s a very New York thing to do, to take risks,” Gandia says.

In particular, Gandia says, the feature wall in the back involved quite a few discussions. “We threw a lot of spaghetti at the wall to see what was going to stick,” Gandia says. “Should it be a mural, should it be an installation of mirrors? Gem specimens? Hands reaching out and holding jewelry? We had lots of Pinterest boards with crazy things on them.”

The winning idea came from muralist Mason Nye, who pressed a custom subway grate stencil into the plaster. “Everything else was very pretty and we thought we needed something to add edginess, to scuff it up a little,” Gandia says. “We need something that feels like the sidewalks, the streets, of the city. New York is pretty, but gritty. We needed that bit of grittiness.”

An artist infused the plaster with flecks of mica, a backdrop for art installations. East Village artist Rosalie Knox rendered an original painting in nail polish, which glows in the dark under black light. The chandelier in the front of the store resembles a freeform tangle of hanging chains or New York City grafitti suspended in midair.

From the Beginning

Christina and Jennifer grew up playing on the shop floor of Greenwich St. Jewelers in its original Financial District location, watching their parents work in the store and at the bench.

The family business faced periods of adversity, from the 9/11 terrorist attacks that destroyed the original store, to the Great Recession, Hurricane Sandy, and a pandemic. Loyal clientele supported them through every setback.

Gandia, who studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology, joined the business in 2003, using her public relations and marketing experience in the fashion industry to help her parents recover after 9/11. Her efforts evolved into identifying independent designers to carry, modernizing the infrastructure, and pioneering the digital marketing landscape.

Gandia Gambale officially signed on in 2007, after she finished her education in finance at Fordham University and became a GIA-certified gemologist.

At that time, the independent jewelry designer movement began to take off, creating a synergy between the kind of jewelry the sisters wanted to sell and the kind of jewelry that was available. “The independent designer movement that we know today really started in the early 2000s; 2006, 2007,” Gandia says. “As a younger generation we wanted to sell things that we liked, and the timing made it easier because there were shows where a retailer could find more independent designers.”

They continue to support emerging designers to capture their clients’ imaginations and help them expand their personal collections. “Being known for having an offering that is beautiful, intentional, and well-made is all very important to us,” Gandia says.

Before the sisters had found their Tribeca space or begun to design it, their father died. During construction of the new store, when Gandia Gambale was helping her mother move, she found a book of store design concepts her father had been sketching that now seem prescient. He had drawn arches, a brick wall and even a window that resembles the interior window of the terrace. “We had talked about moving while he was alive,” Gandia Gambale says, “and this felt like a nod of support.”

In turn, the sisters honor the roots of their family business by maintaining the service element, upon which their parents built their business and established links to their community.

“In New York, you don’t find a jeweler very often who can do a bit of everything, that has a full shop, and does custom design, repair, restoration, bridal, fine jewelry and designer jewelry,” Gandia Gambale says. “It’s a point of differentiation for us among our competitors” as well as a gift to the community.

Nico Pallotto says the design team considers the entire project a love letter from Greenwich Street Jewelers to New York City. “We believe everyone can feel the vibe without it being a cliche of stereotypical New York City elements splashed all over the space. It feels familiar, relaxed, approachable, but also elevated.”

People are drawn in, whether they stop by for a repair, to design a custom ring, or simply out of curiosity. When they cross that threshold and embark on a retail adventure, they are often surprised to find such a warm, welcoming place, backed by an incredible team trained to engage shoppers and to make them feel happy.

“That’s why people want to live here,” Gandia says.

Greenwich St. Jewelers created a Toi et Moi ring capsule collection to showcase their use of traceable gems and Fairmined gold.

Five Cool Things About Greenwich St. Jewelers

1. TEAM BUILDING. The goal is to hire collaborative team members with an entrepreneurial spirit. “We have people with incredible experience, background and creativity,” says Gandia. The team consists of artists, opera singers, tarot readers, models, crocheters, fashion lovers and drag queens. Each team member’s birthday or work anniversary is celebrated with a lunch or a treat, like a visit from an ice cream truck or an in-store charcuterie spread. “To thank them,” Gandia Gambale says, “and to let them know we’re thinking of them.”

2. CREATIVE COLLECTION LAUNCH. Greenwich St. hosted an event for the launch of a jewelry collection, partnering with an astrologer who gave readings about the participant’s zodiac signs. The goal was to empower potential clients to learn more about how the stars align for them in their lives, an important inspiration to Gandia, who designed the ASTRA collection of zodiac charms. They also collaborated with an Aura reader.

The Reade Street location, twice the size of the former store, has been the site of multiple in-store events.

3. RESPONSIBLE SOURCING. Greenwich St. achieved Fairmined certification and created a Toi et Moi ring capsule collection, hand-crafted in their workshop, to showcase their use of traceable gemstones and Fairmined gold. They began offering De Beers Code of Origin diamonds and GIA Diamond of Origin to present traceable diamonds that do good in the country they come from, such as providing jobs, healthcare and education.

4. THE PRIZE. The Greenwich St. architectural dream team, Maori Hughes, MAOarch owner/principal, and Nico Pallotto, senior associate, were awarded one of a very few honorable mentions for Greenwich St. Jewelers in the international architecture awards, 11th Annual A+ Awards hosted by Architizer in the Global Retail category, competing against entries from more than 90 countries.

5. VERSATILE DISPLAY. The window vitrines turn 360 degrees and have distinct design styles on either side. This allows for flexibility in display and ease when anyone wants to try on what they see in the window, making the transition from outdoor passersby to indoor shopping seamless.

PHOTO GALLERY (16 IMAGES)

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ONLINE EXTRA

Q & A With Nico Pallotto, senior associate with MAOarch Architecture Firm

Greenwich St. Jewelers owners Jennifer Gandia and Christina Gandia Gambale partnered with MAOArch architecture firm, led by Maori Fujisaki Hughes, to design their new flagship store in New York City. Greenwich St. Jewelers is the No. 1 winner in the Big Cool category of the 2023 America’s Coolest Stores contest.

We asked Nico Pallotto, senior associate with MAOarch, to explain in detail some of the magic behind the store’s unique design.

Q. There is so much going on in the interior of Greenwich St. Jewelers, in a good way! How do the many layers work?

A. We like to think of this store as a love letter to New York City from G. St & MAOarch. This love letter celebrates the complexity and layers of the dense city blocks, a diverse population, diversity of eateries, smells, noise, speeds, and rich layers of history, all of which gives New York City that je ne sais quoi. You can’t put your finger on everything all at once, but the pieces come together as you travel from front to back and back to front of this TriBeCa flagship. It feels familiar, relaxed, approachable, but also elevated.

Simultaneously, our goal was to execute the sequence of materials in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming and is curated and considered. Architecturally, with the help of Hyde Park Moldings of New York, we combined the softness of the custom white plaster walls that are embedded with flecks of mica and crushed pieces of clear glass, with the softness of reclaimed American oak floors that act as the foundation and backdrop for the material palette.

These main materials are balanced with the textures of fine mosaic tiles on the floor, pockets of original brick wall and undersides of arches hand troweled with a gold and cream textured plaster, as well as the custom feature wall.

That feature wall, at the rear of the space, is inspired by the texture of the often overlooked New York City sidewalk/subway grates. Its material transitions, such as oxidized copper and metallic gray lime plaster, were masterfully executed by local muralist Mason Nye, and in the end alludes to the steam one would walk through passing overtop any street grate.

At the bottom half is a custom-made raised plaster subway grate built out of laser cut templates and layers of dark gray and metallic silver custom lime plaster. The result is a 3D extruded plaster surface that travels along the width of the wall, steps up and down, and partially conceals the door to the back of house. It felt like it was an original old wall discovered and exposed during construction.

As you proceed through the space from front to back the visual and tactile story begins to layer and then expand as you reach the main (bridal) salon and feature wall. It’s just like walking through your friend’s chic Soho loft. A crescendo at the end of the space was important.

Q. Tell us about the layers of lighting

A. Lighting is key to any successful jewelry shop or store. Here at G.ST there are many types and levels of artificial lighting mixed with soft northern natural light. There is warm lighting with a nod to residential spaces that beams down from the ceiling; you don’t see the light coming down. The perimeter walls flanking the long sides of the space have continuous arches revealed between plaster and brick walls that help brighten and feel as if they expand the width of the space.

Our lighting designer also mentioned the ceiling would provide a dome of warm light similar to a residence. Sconces, bookcase accent lights and picture lights over artwork add another layer of ambience or highlight various rooms and provide balance, warmth and sparkle.

Finally, the foyer is illuminated by customized brass stems draped in illuminated braided ropes that resemble the gestural moves of graffiti floating in space, and/ or the ropes once used on pulleys for moving goods from New York City sidewalks to basement vaults. The chandelier is a celebration of our greatest muse, New York City, and downtown’s gilded age.

Q. How do so many distinctive design elements and ideas work together so well in a relatively small space?

A. From a spatial perspective, our tactic was how to make sure that the space felt like you could breathe, that you didn’t feel like there were barriers in the way.

Also, we strategically placed architectural elements that created moments of expansion and contraction of the space.

Although our material palette, which we were calling our “material universe” could read as overwhelming or an overload of materials, colors, textures, and patterns, when one would see it for the first time, we made sure that we utilized the mood board to strategically sprinkle interesting patterns or colors of materials throughout the space, and also study their proportions /size in relation to the overall space and size of the rooms.

Ultimately each room was a puzzle piece, or square in a quilt, that had its own smaller unique personality but when all paired together they sing in unison.

We also wanted to make sure that the materials were a combination of luxurious looking and feeling materials balanced with more humble materials that felt contextualized to this particular TriBeCa neighborhood and history.

We took advantage of extremely tall ceilings, paired with narrow spaces in the horizontal direction, and added a series of specially carved arches to modulate the tall vs. narrow, and essentially trick the eye and body into it feeling like a comfortable space. Supporting this larger architectural maneuver, the bookcase, wall niches, wall mounted vitrines, hanging vitrines, free standing fixtures against walls or in the middle of the space, soft custom furnishings, and unique accessories all play a part in eliminating the feeling that you are in a long narrow tunnel or a small crowded space.

Q. How did the concept of a New York City apartment inform the layout?

A. The raw, original space we were provided with was long and narrow and it naturally felt like a NYC railroad apartment mixed with the expansive identities of neighboring SoHo lofts.

The program for the space developed from the hybridization of the two typologies above. It became a procession of rooms that had their own identities, allowed for a sense of enclosure but also felt open to other rooms. The strategy was to entice customers to feel this expansion and contraction of space, allowing them to slow down, temporarily disengage from the frenzy outside, embrace the space and most importantly engage the product and fine jewelry associates. In addition, the joint residential-retail energies of the rooms allow customers to feel comfortable away from the busy streets, but also when inside the pretension that can typically be felt in larger jewelry stores could be eliminated. It also allows for a more personal approach because of the familiar vibe of the spaces, the integration of a side-by-side selling approach and interactive display showcases fixtures.

Q. What stands out for you in memory about this project?

A. Right before the soft opening, Christina and Jennifer shared a sketchbook they found in the attic a few months before the opening. It was a newer sketchbook of their not too recently passed father. When he heard that Christina and Jennifer had suggested looking for a new space to build out a new location, in secret he began sketching his dream store, which was full of arches and a feature wall that was a nod to time. When we saw these sketches, while our clients were merchandising the store, it brought tears to our eyes because the entire time we were designing, without him being present and providing opinions, we ended up utilizing arches and brick walls as the grand gestures to create impact, to modulate and organize the space. Not having used arches in the past in our designs, it truly felt like he was with us and guiding from above and speaking thorough our architectural sketches, plans, and material selections to create a dream space for a beautiful, unique and successful GST flagship in NYC.

Nico Pallotto joined MAOarch in 2021 with an extensive experience in luxury retail, residential and commercial projects. As Senior Associate, he leads a team of designers and architects on luxury retail and specialty projects including Greenwich St. Jewelers, Carolina Herrera, Stefano Ricci, Burberry, Bergdorf Goodman and Wildlike.

MAOarch is a NYC-based full-service architecture firm, specializing in luxury retail and commercial projects of all scales and sizes. The firm was founded by Maori Fujisaki Hughes, AIA in 2018, a registered architect with extensive experience working with renowned luxury retail brands, both nationally and internationally.

The post Residential Design and Art Installations Make Tribeca Jewelry Store Feel Like a High-Class Home appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

Police said two men pushed past the woman as she tried to prevent them from entering Diamond Collect in Flushing at about 2:30 p.m. Feb. 22. They demanded that she open the safe, but she could not. The woman is the mother of the store’s owner and had just flown in from Taiwan for a visit, the New York Post reports.

Police said the men “punched, kicked and struck a 79-year-old female employee in the head with a handgun.” She was taken to a  local hospital and listed in stable condition, according to the Post.

The men fled with about $500,000 in merchandise, police said.

Authorities have released photos of two men believed to have entered the store, along with two other men believed to be accomplices, the Post reports.

The post $500,000 Jewelry Store Robbery: 79-Year-Old Woman Attacked in Queens Heist appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

Joseph Gonzalez is accused of attempted murder, robbery and gun possession in connection with the Feb.. 5 incident at A&M Jewelry in Sunset Park, the New York Daily News reports.

The New York Post reported that gunman, who was wearing a mask, “began firing as he stood in the open doorway demanding money.”  (News 12 reported that the suspect “demanded diamonds.”)

A 24-year-old worker was grazed in the torso. He was taken to a local hospital and later released.

The gunman left without taking anything.

CBS New York reports that Gonzalez “lives just blocks away from the shop.”

Watch video of the incident:

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On Dec. 30, store owner Manny Cohen, 79, was taken to the ICU of a local hospital with a brain bleed after an attack, NBC New York reported. Cohen was closing Roxy Jewelry Store in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn at about 5 p.m. when he was attacked. The two men entered the store and took jewelry valued at $100,000.

JSA has now learned of four other crimes in Brooklyn and Manhattan in recent weeks:

Jan. 4, Manhattan

According to JSA: “Two masked armed robbers pulled a gun on a midtown jewelry store employee threatening to shoot him unless he opened a showcase. One suspect then used a gun to break open the top of the case. The second suspect had a can of pepper spray, and struggled with an employee before snatching jewelry. The suspects changed their clothes while fleeing the store.”

Jan. 8, Brooklyn

“At 5:00 p.m. three suspects carried out a smash and grab robbery of a retail jewelry store in 30 seconds and taking 100 rings. They threatened to shoot the owner and smashed showcases with a hammer,” JSA reports.

Jan. 6, Brooklyn

JSA reports: “At 6:20 p.m. a suspect with a knife ordered an employee to open the safe, and left with 25 items. The suspect had been in previously pretending to be a customer.”

Jan. 3, Manhattan

“It has been reported to JSA that there was a fifth armed robbery in Midtown Manhattan within the last two weeks,” according to JSA.

Recommendations

JSA made the following recommendations: “Do not resist in a robbery. Suspects have guns, knives, hammers and other dangerous weapons and will not hesitate to use them. Do not risk the lives of your employees and customer, in addition to your own life. Rely on your insurance.”

The post JSA Reports 5 Violent Robberies of Jewelry Stores in NYC appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

A group of 10 robbers entered Revel Jewelers at around 7 p.m. Wednesday, the New York Post reports.

Police said one of the thieves flashed a gun. Another reportedly attacked store employees with bear spray. Scroll down to watch a news video about the crime.

Six workers were in the store at the time of the robbery, according to police. They were taken to the hospital for treatment following the incident.

The suspects broke glass cases and put jewelry into bags before fleeing, police said.

NBC New York quoted witness Nicholas Lassi saying that “people were coughing and covering their eyes” due to the bear spray.

“They were messed up pretty bad. Eyes were puffed up, seemed like they got sprayed head-on, in the face,” he said.

The post Robbers Take $800,000 in Jewelry from NYC Store, Attack Workers with Bear Spray [Video] appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

Police say the robbery happened late Thursday afternoon at Golden Square Jewelry, ABC 7 reports. The suspects wore masks and hoodies. Scroll down to watch a news video about the crime.

The suspects grabbed jewelry and then led police on a chase in a car. They crashed into a house and ran away, but three of the men were soon arrested. A fourth suspect is still at large.

The stolen jewelry was found inside the getaway car, police said.

Two men were charged with robbery, grand larceny and burglary. The third remained in the hospital following the car crash and had not yet been charged.

Watch the video:

The post $100,000 in Jewelry Stolen by Thieves with Sledgehammers in Yonkers, NY appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

The New York Police Department has released this surveillance photo of a suspect in the beating death.

Arasb Shoughi was attacked on the afternoon of March 28 while working at his business, Global Pawn Shop, the New York Post reports. He was struck with a metal rod and died April 17 of his injuries.

“The suspect first tried to sell watches to the owner, and then during the robbery miscellaneous jewelry was taken,” the Jewelers’ Security Alliance reported in an alert to members.

The death “has been deemed a homicide” by the New York Police Department, the Post reports.

Shoughi, 60, was beaten so severely that officers responding to the scene first believed he had been shot. The New York Daily News reports that he passed away at Jamaica Hospital, where he was taken after the attack.

The suspect, who was seen in surveillance images, remains at large. He was seen headed westbound on Jamaica Avenue.

JSA will pay a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. He is described as 5 feet 7 inches, 150 pounds and with a medium build.

The post NYC Store Owner Dies After Violent Robbery appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

A layered approach is important, especially with jewelry. Visual merchandisers strive to capture attention from afar with large objects, and then engage passersby again with more detail when they’re up close. So, much depends on whether the store traffic is vehicular or pedestrian (or both).

Falk recommends changing the overall window design five times a year — for the four seasons and again for the Christmas holidays — but refreshing them more often by changing the product displayed.

Where security is a concern, jewelry stores can use large photos of their product for display in windows. Movement in displays can be exceptionally eye-catching, but when motion detectors are sensitive to any movement up front, it’s important to find ways to tie down or glue down displays and then to simulate movement by layering display items. Reflective vinyl and paper elements can add much needed sparkle. Finally, don’t neglect lighting your window displays. Opt for clear, bright lights without yellow tones with good strong lumen output.

As for inspiration, Pinterest and Instagram are good virtual sources. Suzanne Rafenstein, director of the display department for RetailWorks, also suggests window shopping when visiting other cities and paying attention to visual cues, whether in store windows or museum displays. “It’s helpful to get out of your area, comfort zone and box, and explore somewhere different,” she says.

Neighborhood Vibe

At Ellie Thompson & Co., Chicago, an annual holiday window decorating contest is judged by local residents. “Our marketing philosophy is best described as hyper-local, so our window displays relate to the activities of the neighborhood,” Thompson says. Her windows are regularly painted by a local artist, who also creates original works for other retailers on the block, for a cohesive theme, such as an annual Winterfest. The Chamber of Commerce and the neighborhood association play a big role in coordinating and subsidizing creative efforts that contribute to the festive feel of the neighborhood, she says.

Personality Plus

Steve Quick Jewelers in Chicago is known for going all out with window displays, says Melissa Quick. With a small storefront on a high-traffic city street, “the more we can do to grab attention, the better.” One memorable example? Star Wars windows with each case dedicated to a specific movie set, curated by Steve and Melissa’s nephew with his own action figures. “We actually had people coming in off the street to tell us how amazing this display was,” Melissa says. Their windows have also played host to rubber chickens, to creepy porcelain doll heads for Halloween, a tribute to David Bowie, in conjunction with a museum exhibit, and the Chicago Marathon, the year Melissa ran in it. “Right now, we have a whole professional wresting theme,” Quick says. “Our windows are really epic!”

Open Invitation

Alice Sundbom of Atelier d’Emotion in Soho, New York City, used her windows as a selling point during pandemic shutdowns and brought merchandise out to shoppers on the street. Window displays remain essential to her business, telling a compelling story and providing a snapshot of the eclectic works of art passersby can expect to see when they venture inside.

Heralding the Holidays

Retailworks Inc. used larger than life holiday ornaments to create the theme at Diedrich Jewelers of Ripon, WI. Minimalist decor delivered maximum impact by bringing joy to shoppers, the community and nearby businesses, proving that a simple yet strategic design can brighten the holidays. The inflatable, rubber-like ornaments are the size and shape of yoga balls and can be deflated, stored and used again. The jewelry display platforms were changed throughout the holiday 2021 season.

Past and Present

For holiday 2021 windows at Patina Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, owner Ivan Barnett and team blended nostalgic antique trains with road sign furniture by artist Boris Bally and an image of a famous Ferrari race car, with contemporary jewelry sprinkled in, for an eclectic and intriguing vignette.

Brand Artistry

Inspired by the beauty of rice paper, the display artists at Retailworks Inc. designed and fabricated red and white Christmas trees made of rice paper and wood for Kesslers Diamonds’ downtown Milwaukee, WI, location. Within each tree are diamond-cut shapes that reflect the nature of the store’s business and branding color, red. Surrounding the winter scene are suspended 3D printed diamonds, and as the sun filters through the windows, the delicate sheerness of the rice paper with its crackling composition provides the illusion of a sheet of ice. Another component of this layered window design is the oversized versions of Kesssler Diamonds’ iconic red gift boxes.

Seasonal Color

Daniela Balzano of Water Street Jewelers in Connecticut likes to create windows with bright pops of color to celebrate each season in her pedestrian-friendly locations. “Putting a little extra time into window presentation has made a big difference for us,” she says. “We have used old ladders as shelving units, dressed mannequins, displayed live plants, hung paper cranes, there’s always something fun happening in our front windows.” One staff member curates an area called “Minetta’s Pick of the Day”; customers often come in to purchase those showcased pieces. Pictured is the January 2022 window at her Madison, CT, store. The windows are updated each month.

Like a Lazy Susan

When Ragnar Bertlesen of Ragnar Jewelers in Vancouver, BC, remodeled her showroom, she redesigned showcases so that they rotate. It’s simple to access items displayed in the window by rotating the cases, making selling in the showroom simpler.

Themed Windows

At Barry Peterson Jewelers in Ketchum, ID, the strategy is to dedicate each window to a trending look, alternating between gender specific/gender neutral and youth/mature style options. Each window also has a specific object supporting the window’s theme, such as an hourglass in the classics-themed window, or succulents and butterflies for their spring styles. Curator Rebecca Larson saves dried flower arrangements for use in the window displays.

This is Us

Karen Hollis of K Hollis Jewelers in Batavia, IL, commissioned an artist to paint her windows. “I really want to set a vibe right when you walk in that this is a fun relaxed atmosphere, that this is us. It’s nice to know talented people who can paint what ideas you have. As jewelers, we get to do that every day but to be on the receiving end and watch it turn into a masterpiece touched my heart.”

Clean and Classic

“We always dress our windows up seasonally and this is our November window,” says Marc Majors of Sam L. Majors in Midland, TX. “We keep it clean and classic. Nothing cheesy and nothing gimmicky.

The post 11 Intriguing Examples of Jewelry Store Window Displays appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

OWNER: Alice Sundbom; URL:atelierdemotion.com; FOUNDED: 2018; AREA: 400 square feet; TOP BRANDS: Hi June Parker, Vitae Ascendere, Fedko, Elena Kriegner, Baharra; BUILDOUT COST: $20,000

PEOPLE WHO REGULARLY stop by Atelier d’ Emotion never know quite what they’ll find on any given day. That’s part of the charm of this tempting Soho spot.

A welcoming vibe, one-of-a-kind jewelry and luxurious perfumes are a given. But there might also be the opportunity to have a portrait drawn on the spot by a guest artist, or to meet the designer of Lady Gaga’s hats.

“Atelier d’Emotion is a great local meeting spot for discovering things you didn’t know you wanted,” says proprietor Alice Sundbom. “I think experience is the way to go in retail. For jewelry, you need to touch it, you need to feel it, and if you add an experience, you will get people out of the house to see it.”

Alice Sundbom has found her niche in Soho.

Sundbom collaborated with Jewelry Week NYC, Brooklyn Metal Works and R & Company to host a multisensory “dinner,” during which courses served were jewelry and scents, rather than food. Eight jewelers presented an intimate, four-course “meal” of the ingredients behind their work to a small table of guests.

Whatever happens, visitors know it will be an immersive experience, and that if the unidentified resident friendly ghost gets her way, the ambient music will be smooth rather than syncopated. “The ghost is friendly, but if we have an annoying customer, she slams the door. And the ghost hates rap music, so we change it to the Pink Martini Channel and everything is fine,”says Sundbom.

After a visitor has explored the store a couple of times, they are likely to bring their friends and start making plans to meet their favorite designers in person. Sundbom is adept at building a following both for her store and for the artists her store represents.

Customers are invited to develop relationships with the atelier’s featured artists, who take custom requests. “If they like the aesthetic of one of our 30 designers, they can say ‘I want to make it my own’ in the aesthetic of that designer. Now people come to us for wedding pieces that are extraordinary pieces you cannot find anywhere else. That is our niche and that is the future of retail.”

Interactive events at Atelier d’Emotion break the ice and usually spill out onto the Soho sidewalk out front.

Like everything else in her Soho atelier, Sundbom is a one-of-a-kind original.

A psychologist born in Sweden, Sundbom came to jewelry officially when asked to help her best friend market her business of 3D-printed jewelry. Before that, though, she had always had difficulty finding jewelry she liked. Nothing she saw was bold enough. So, she began studying jewelry and modifying what she did buy. “Now,” she says, “I would like to buy everything in my store.”

She becomes particularly animated when describing the art and the artists.

Manya & Roumen’s Gold Pink Sapphire Snail in 18K gold and blackened sterling silver; $7,900.

At Atelier d’Emotion, you can find pieces in solid 22 karat gold handcrafted by Bigio, metal chain crocheted jewelry by La Vie Boheme (where a bracelet may contain 300 miles of chain and painstaking work), hand-carved titanium red carpet diamond pieces by Fedko, jewelry animal pets by Manya and Roumen, futuristic 3D printed metal lace designs by Vitae Ascendere, pearls with salt-and-pepper diamonds by Hi June Parker, and pendants that turn into cocktail rings by Elena Kriegner, just to name a few. Some of the perfume bottles are handmade in Italy; Atelier d’ Emotion is the exclusive dealer for many of them in New York or on the East Coast.

Beyond seeking a certain style of jewelry, Sundbom is also deeply attuned to the emotions tied to the symbolism of the purchase. The fact that she curates her atelier with one-of-a-kind pieces makes each purchase that much more special to her customers, because, as she says, when you’re investing emotionally in jewelry, you don’t want to find 10 million pieces that look exactly the same.

“Jewelry has to be an object of emotion because it’s an emotional purchase.”

As for the space itself, Sundbom filled the landmark building with interior design treasures she found discarded by businesses that closed, such as tables and ottomans from Lord and Taylor’s and pillows and showcases from Barney’s, creating a casually eclectic look. “Out of the ashes of big retail, here comes Atelier d’Emotion, which is a new form of retail,” she says. “Everything is borrowed, recycled and transformed into something new.”

Although the store is only 400 square feet, high ceilings make it look more expansive. During a typical event, guests wander in and out of the store, spilling onto the sidewalk with glasses of champagne. But the pandemic brought the atelier’s party to a pause, albeit temporarily, in 2020. “Our super vibrant, open, full of people store, became very quiet,” Sundbom says.

Events feature a signature drink, which adds to the sense it’s a special occasion.

The front windows, always a draw, became even more important. She relied on the storytelling power of those windows, showcasing different worlds of art and design, one at a time, changing the art and the displays every week. Passersby began shopping from the sidewalk, and she brought jewelry and art out to them. She also began scheduling virtual appointments that turned into virtual events.

During the early days of the pandemic, Atelier d’Emotion also partnered with Bottomless Closet to help New York City women enter the workforce. During December 2020, 10 percent of every purchase benefited the organization. In November 2020, Atelier d’Emotion helped raise funds for the Global Stress Initiative. The virtual event was designed to raise awareness about a treatment for COVID-19-related post-traumatic stress disorder at a Manhattan Clinic.

Five Cool Things About Atelier d’Emotion / Soho

1. THE VIRTUAL WORLD. Online, Atelier d’Emotion introduces its designers’ work through short videos, allowing each to tell their story, then follows up with images and videos about the designs and promotes those on Instagram and Facebook. “We have recently introduced the feature of booking a virtual appointment, no purchase necessary, another way to show the work of our designers and answer questions about the different materials used and designs,” says Sundbom. She sends out a newsletter every month introducing the new designers, art and wearable art pieces.

2. THE BRICK AND MORTAR. Built in 1901, the historical, landmarked Soho building still has its original tile floors and silver ceilings, preserving the style and elegance of New York City. Original art by New York artists on the walls is constantly rotating, creating a different vibe with every season.

3. THE WAITING LIST. Artists line up to have their work shown in the space. “The only criteria I have is that it doesn’t compete with other people and that it’s something unique and made in the U.S.,” Sundbom says. “You’d be surprised by how many jewelry artists do not fit into the corporate image of the jewelry world.”

4. IT’S ON THE MAP. Atelier d’ Emotion is on a SOHO Village Association historical walking map, which draws people to wander by and look at the building. Often, engaging window displays convert sightseers into shoppers. Other local marketing efforts include a display case in the Dominick Hotel and a collaboration with hotel concierges who refer visitors to the store. She also works with stylists who borrow jewelry for magazine photo shoots when they’re looking for distinctive and bold accessories, which is often.

5. PANDEMIC PIVOT. The perfume displayed and sold in the store is unique, unisex and niche, some made in New York, but also from France, Italy and other regions of the U.S. In response to the COVID pandemic, Sundbom added a variety of hydrating hand sanitizers to the scented collection, as well as masks designed and made in the city. The jewelry designers created unique chains for the masks.

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