Loving Las Vegas

The most recent issue of Harper’s Magazine has an article by Clancy Martin titled “All that Glitters.” It’s an account of a visit Martin made with his brother to the JCK show in Las Vegas back in the 1990s. Martin describes the massive  jewelry show (and the entire jewelry business) as a shifty demimonde stocked with tough guys who speak their own macho argot and hold to their own peculiar codes of honor.

I went to JCK 10 days ago. And while it is full of all sorts of people, some of them indeed quite strange, I didn’t recognize Martin’s characterization. I’ve been going for years, and what I like most, in addition to seeing all of the beautiful jewelry, is to see all of the people I have known for so long. The jewelry business is one of the oldest out there, and in many important ways it remains a business where personal bonds are important. Trust between a wholesaler and a dealer is measured in the years the two have known each other, not in credit scores. What I love about buying jewelry is what I love about selling it: the people.

College Avenue Parties

Summer’s here, which means that College Avenue is ready to party. I’m involved in a few of these parties myself. The first one is the Jazz Night on May 14. There’ll be music on the streets, the stores will stay open late, and it’ll all feel very festive. Khalil Shaheed and the kids he teaches at the OakTown Jazz Workshops will be performing outside my gallery. I’m a big fan of Khalil Shaheed — he’s a great musician, and an equally amazing human being. His devotion to the young musicians at the workshops is exemplary.Come and hear them play on Friday, May 14, and enjoy the lively vibe on College Avenue that evening.

A little more than a week from that Friday, on Saturday, May 22, I’m participating in another party. Crossroads Trading Co., the recyclers of fashion, are moving to their new location just a few doors down from me, where Cotton and Company used to be (5858 College Avenue). And they’re having a party from noon to 3 in the new location. To celebrate their move, I’m going to serve delicious cookies from Katrina Rozelle and also offer a 10% discount on everything in my gallery.

If  you’re looking to buy something small and sweet, I have the perfect thing. I’ve just added a new designer to my collection. He makes rings in sterling silver with gold — rings with spinners in the interiors. They’re beautiful – and very affordable, starting at $90. Come check them out.

How did I ever get here?

I didn’t start out working in the jewelry business. I used to work in large corporations. But I always loved jewelry. And by the time I began visiting India in the early eighties, I was consumed with jewelry.  I made many friends in India, and everybody was so good about showing me their family jewels.

People here would ask me to bring back jewelry for them, and even if they didn’t, I would buy some to gift to my friends and family here. I remember all those delightful afternoons I spent sipping tea at jewelry stores and browsing their collections.

One of my Indian friends, Satish Kapur, whose family and I became very close, suggested I should begin working with jewelry, since I loved it so much. So I decided to try it, and began selling jewelry privately. I enjoyed it enough that in 1986, I decided to open my store. It had to be in a place that felt right. For me, that was Rockridge. My husband and I met in Rockridge, so it’s always been special. And I love how small-townish it feels; yet it has the influence of Cal and the California College of Arts. We’ve been here for more than two decades now. And this is where my jewelry and I plan to stay.

Magnitude in Small Objects

When I first started going to India, I would visit my friend Shalini. She lived in a big beautiful house in New Delhi surrounded by mango trees. In her bedroom she had a cabinet that was at least 15 feet long, it was filled with necklaces, bracelets, rings, precious stones, silver, and gold. We would lounge on her bed holding the jewelry and she’d tell me the story that was behind every piece: The ring owned by her great-grandmother, the necklace that was the dowry in a tragic marriage long ago. It was the stories that made the objects priceless.

The notion that our lives are the treasure is what drew me to the work of Pyrrha, a pair of self-taught jewelry designers in Vancouver.

Their jewelry is all about the story. They draw on mythology and the symbols of ancient insignias for the designs of their rings, bracelets, and necklaces. I love this bronze intaglio of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, the moon, and wild animals.

And I also love this ring with the artful fox.

Pyrrah’s stuff is not expensive, but it’s not about how much you paid for it – it’s how you live while wearing it. As Pyrrha says: “We don’t believe in the idea of perfection; it’s attractive as a concept, but in reality it breaks down. Instead we believe in personal significance. We believe in finding meaning in the briefest moments, and magnitude in the smallest objects.”

Tell Us Your Proposal Story

Do you think you have the greatest proposal story? We, together with Jewelry Information Center (JIC), are conducting a search for the best engagement story. If you have a great engagement proposal story, submit all of the details – whether romantic, funny or extreme – to JIC’s Ultimate Proposal Contest! You could win a grand prize package that includes platinum jewelry and a getaway in Santorini, Greece! Entries are accepted from February 15-April 9, 2010. Then, after the judges narrow the entries down to the top 10, America will vote for their favorite proposal story from April 19-30, 2010! Be sure to tell your friends and family about the contest! Don’t forget to select Jan Christensen Heller as your participating retailer!