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From Travel To Jewels
Carter & Spence is an eclectic neighborhood store that caters to those who like a bit of style and novelty in their jewelry.
By Nancy Pier Sindt
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| Adel Chefridi |
Kathleen Nevill, owner and president of Carter & Spence,
a jewelry store in the heart of horse country in Warrenton, Virginia, says she discovered her love for jewelry almost
by accident. Her major in college was psychology, but she also took a jewelry and metalwork class. “I worked for seven years after graduation as a counselor for
a regional community service board, working with adults who were diagnosed with mental illness and retardation. It
was a job I loved, but I burned out.” To recover from burnout, Nevill began to travel. “I quit my job and went to Australia and New Zealand. I then came home to make a bit more travel money, waiting tables and working as a bench jeweler at Race Jewelers in Charlottesville, Virginia. The owner had several bench jewelers working there as well and they all taught me a ton! After leaving there, I traveled for a couple of years throughout the United States. Then, I went to work full-time for Harlan & Mcguire Jewelers, also in Charlottesville. I worked for them until 2004.”
When Kathleen and her husband, Carter Nevill, moved to the Warrenton area in
2004, she decided it was time to open her own business. By September of that year,
she opened Carter & Spence, a name chosen to honor the couples’ two grandmothers:
Her grandmother’s surname was Spence and Carter’s grandmother’s surname was Carter. Kathleen ran her gift and jewelry shop alone until the beginning of 2007, when her husband joined her. Today, the couple employs a full-time manager and three part-time salespeople. Kathleen is president and buyer; Carter, treasurer.
“The building we are in was originally a traditional downtown jewelry store that
sold jewelry and gifts, so I thought I’d offer the two categories, too,” Kathleen says,
noting that the store is about 30 minutes outside of Washington D.C. “Our jewelry selection is kind of eclectic. We carry a large sterling silver collection as well as classic diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire jewelry. But over the past five years, we’ve added designers, including Anne Sportun, Adel Chefridi, Elyse Moran and Ananda Khalsa.”
Kathleen occasionally attends jewelry industry shows such as JCK Las Vegas, but for
the most part, travels to better craft shows, such as the American Craft Council shows in Baltimore as well as the Philadelphia Craft Fair, to find new sources. There, she looks for lesser-known artisans whose work is complementary to the other designers found in her store. She also discovers designers by word of mouth or simply by asking her favorite artists, “Whose work do you love?”
Carter & Spence also carries watches. “We have a wide range of products but it works,” says the owner. “We have a large female clientele who buy gifts for their girlfriends and want stylish, affordable pieces.” Best-selling categories include silver earrings and charms, as well as small, colored gemstone pieces.
Although she is a bench jeweler, Kathleen says she hasn’t sat down to make a piece of jewelry for some time. “Not that I want to go back on the bench,” she says, but admits she would find it fascinating to go to a gem show like the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) Tucson Show and pick up some interesting gemstones that she could use to create one-of-a-kind pieces.
Diamonds are a category that is growing in importance. Kathleen says it took her ten years to get “back into bridal” — referring to the specialty of a previous employer — and she’s currently putting together a portfolio of rings, mountings and semimounts to meet customer demand. Most of these rings have been created by her core designers and others are developed in-house and produced by a local jeweler.
When it comes to diamond bridal jewelry, this retailer says she prefers to work with her regular designers to create custom diamond engagement rings because some of the pieces from the industry’s big companies are too costly or their styles are not unique enough for her customers. In order to increase that part of her business, Kathleen says she is working with several of her key designers to develop a line for the store of more unique bridal jewelry. That way, she will have custom pieces available from regular designers, as well
as a collection in store from those same designers. She cites a local designer, Emily Sentz, whose work is popular at the store. Sentz makes jewelry from 14- and 18-karat gold, sterling silver and platinum. “I’m trying to encourage her to develop bridal,” the
retailer says.
When a client wants a particular cut or shape of diamond, Kathleen calls in some loose diamonds from her sources. She says she used Polygon, an online trading platform for gems and jewelry, several years back and is considering going back to this service for her diamond needs.
Kathleen says she is not a graduate gemologist but does have a Gemological Institute
of America (GIA) certificate in diamond grading. Personally, she says she “won’t scrimp on a cut, but will step back and let the client choose the quality she wants.” Generally, the best-selling qualities range from E to G color and SI to VS2 clarity, with average size center stones of 1 carat, although there are some as large as 2 carats. Overall, her clients want “more of a design piece rather than big stones,” she says.
Carter & Spence is actively involved in local community events, including fund-raisers for schools and Habitat for Humanity. The retailer donates prizes for auctions and raffles. The Nevills are an outdoors-loving couple and enjoy running. In fact, the owner says she has missed a few national jewelry trade shows because of her participation in marathons. She hopes that Carter & Spence can find a way to sponsor a 5K event or perhaps organize
a fund-raising event for the local garden club.
Advertising is handled by Kathleen’s husband Carter, who places ads in local magazines and newspapers. Outreach to customers is done through emails and regular mailings. Currently, the retailer has no website, but there are plans to develop one in the near future.
As for the store, Kathleen says she plans to continue using her proven formula: maintaining an eclectic mix of brands and styles and adding a couple of new designers
each year in order to broaden her horizons and customer base. But in choosing suppliers, she will stick with what has worked well: “I plan on pulling in bridal on a larger scale
but using smaller designers, not the typical big industry people.”
“I have loved owning my own business,” says the retailer. “I like making people happy and am thrilled I can come to work every day with that as my goal, not to mention working with beautiful things.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2013. To subscribe click here.
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