Social media is great at one thing in particular: Sites like Instagram and others allow you to watch people’s lives change and share important milestones—and jewelry designer Patricia Carruth shared the good, the bad, and the ugly as she opened her first a retail space.
Within a few weeks, Carruth and her family took a space in Metro Detroit from blank slate to reality. It took late nights, lots of teamwork, and a few dance sessions to get it done in time for Your Personal Jeweler’s grand opening Dec. 17.
It’s been a whirlwind, Carruth admits, but those stressful days were worth it when people started coming into the store both to support her and shop for the holidays.
Carruth started in in jewelry as a teen, working at her grandfather’s jewelry store in Detroit. It was the best kind of summer internship, she says, because her grandfather paid her in jewelry—something that started a lifelong love affair with the craft. Fast-forward, and Carruth thought she wanted to become a wedding or event planner—until she had to plan her own wedding.
Carruth started working at a small mom-and-pop jewelry store in metro Detroit and began her education and creating designs as a professional jeweler. She jumped into her own business in 2018, quitting her job two weeks before she was about to go on maternity leave with her son—something her husband supported out of love for their family, Carruth says.
Earlier this year, Carruth won the Black in Jewelry Coalition’s Together By Design contest, helping one lucky couple design their ideal engagement ring. Carruth’s winning entry included the Brooklyn Bridge, where the couple shared their first kiss.
Here are Carruth’s thoughts on opening her store, the future for her jewelry, and where she hopes to take her brand next.
Congrats on the new store. Why did you want to open a retail space?
I absolutely love the Royal Oak community, and I knew if I opened a retail space I wanted to stay in the heart of downtown Royal Oak. So, when this location became available, that was in the same building of my old office, I jumped at the opportunity.
How have you designed the space with your customers in mind?
It’s still evolving. We had a tight deadline to stick to in order to get the store opened in time for the holidays, but now that we’ve done that, we’ll be working section by section to really enhance the customer experience. One thing as a consumer myself that has always bothered me with traditional showcases in jewelry stores is how it divides the consumer from the sales associate. We are working on custom cases and a more open floor plan to help us better connect with our customers. I want the experience to feel more like you’re in a big fancy jewelry closet playing dress-up and getting advice from a friend, who just happens to be an expert, on jewelry.
What are you selling/offering in this space (consultations, events, product lines)?
We will be dividing the store in two. The front half will serve as our showroom that we will eventually faze out to hold only original designs by us and other independent designers. While the back of the store will be our design studio for custom design appointments. We will be offering “Diamond & Doughnut” events with a permanent bracelet every month. We also offer proposal planning services as an add-on to engagement ring purchases.
How do you feel about jewelry and the industry going into 2023?
So excited. We plan on utilizing tools like AI to encourage customer-led design and integrate other tech into the customer experience. We’re also excited to see what trends emerge in 2023 and put our own unique spin on them.
What else can I share that doesn’t get mentioned enough about you?
I think when people hear I’m a third-generation jeweler they assume I took over my grandfather’s business. He actually retired and closed his store a few years before I started my business. So, I did not inherit a business. I started my business at home. I converted a guest room to an office/showroom and sold to friends and family. My passion for jewelry, design, love, and the wedding industry have really been the driving force behind my growth.
Top: Patricia Carruth, the designer behind Your Personal Jeweler, opened her first retail store in December and says she is looking forward to hosting events at the location in Royal Oak, Mich., a suburb of Detroit (photos courtesy of Your Personal Jeweler).
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