When I started my jewelry business a year and a half ago, I told myself I’d document my journey to look back on.
I have a new office/store (by appointment only) in my hometown of Manhattan Beach, California. Since it will be a month or two before it can open for business, I thought I’d share it with you here!
I worked on getting it ready from mid-February to mid-March, just before COVID-19 reached California and we were given the Stay at Home order. Although I’m disappointed with the delay of being able to use my new space, I am grateful that I worked hard for my business to be 100% virtual over the last few years. People can find my fine jewelry products on my site, related product and lifestyle pictures, detailed specifications and even videos of the products to make purchasing online easy.
Still, I am anxious for the world to open up again to get back to regular life and to utilize my new space! I thought I’d share how the space came about and it’s transformation to get it ready to welcome customers.
Over the past year, I received a growing number of custom piece requests or people asking about specific items they were looking for but didn’t know how to find. So along with my online store front of 100+ products people could directly purchase, I added concierge services and jewelry design to my offerings.
Prior to getting my office, I met customers who wanted to connect in person at the jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles or at the customer’s home in the South Bay. Through these meetings, I realized a central meeting place where people could come to see me by appointment would be a good idea.
My new space is in the shopping center on 3rd and Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach where the Two Guns coffee shop and El Tarasco restaurant is located. A big part of my business model is to run as lean as possible in order to pass my cost savings on to my customers. My expenses are focused on the factors I most value in fine jewelry which are quality materials and workmanship. Since this shopping center is slated to be torn down in a year or so to be turned into a non-retail business, it was the perfect opportunity for me to have a long term “pop up” office to meet my clients without impacting my business model with large overhead expenses.
I am co-spacing with a technology guy who fixes computers and offers related services for people’s tech issues at home. The nature of his job leads him to do house calls where he is often out of the office, so we agreed to split the 400 square foot space in half and have our designated days for use.
Check out the before and after transformation!
Tech guy’s office before. Windows painted to block people from seeing inside.
Stuff everywhere.
My contractor who has done lots of work on our home for 15 years, Daniel Rodriguez, came to the rescue! He painted, patched, took off the paint on windows.
My dear friend, Janiece Cotrell, who has the design eye helped me clean the place up!
The far side is tech guy’s stuff and his side of the space.
A divider screen was not going to work with all that stuff there! I decided a wall was necessary.
Kate, who helped me with signs for the office, Janiece (my designer) and me the day I decided to lease the space.
Tada! Didn’t Janiece do a great job?
For now, customers can visit my site to shop and video meet for custom orders. But soon enough my By Appointment Private Jeweler space will be open! For now, please stay safe, healthy, and well.
And if you’re not ready for a jewelry purchase just yet but love to see sparkle, get on my email list for jewelry info now and again! Thanks for visiting, and I hope you visit here again soon!
