Sometimes career detours have unexpected rewards. When he was in his 20s, Britten Wolf played the guitar, started his own band and always remembered being really impressed with the successful clubs in San Francisco, California, that would “gut the place every eight months and completely change it.”
Fast forward to 2013, when Wolf opened BVW Jewelers in Reno, Nevada. “I knew I couldn’t redesign a jewelry store every year. But I could keep it new with art that rotates out every three months,” he explains.
There were a few other non-related career moves before Wolf decided to return to the industry he had gotten to know as a teen in his family’s jewelry store in Albuquerque, New Mexico. But he had an equally personal introduction to art, which remains integral to his values and business philosophy. His stepmother, Linda Linton, was a noted artist in the southwest, and he observed the difficulties of that life firsthand. That’s why his store features the works of both established and emerging local artists, and he donates a percentage of his commission to the local food bank.
Jewelry is Wolf’s personal form of art. “I always liked doing something creative,” he says. Before opening his own store, he served an apprenticeship while also designing for independent jewelers and doing his own custom work. In 2005, he launched a website to sell his designs online.
But the real impetus to open a brick-and-mortar shop was to prove to the naysayers that he could do it. He gives “huge kudos” to the Nevada Small Business Alliance, which, in conjunction with the University of Nevada, helped him create a business plan and secure the necessary financing. To this day, he maintains that “there is nothing wrong in asking for help.”
Creative ‘comfort food’
“I opened my store because there wasn’t anything like it. No one had any art on the walls,” he recalls. “I didn’t want a traditional store that was dark with brown wood cabinets. I wanted an open concept with curved walls.” Rather than dull beige carpet, he installed a floor that gives the impression of water flowing beneath your feet. And he created what he calls “my own gallery of jewelry and art.”
Beyond contributing to the store’s distinctive ambience, art represents a sense of well-being for Wolf. “I compare it to comfort food,” he says, noting that it also inspires his creative vision. “Every time I look at one of the pictures, I see something new.”
A change in perspective
Redesign represents the majority of his work. Wolf is adamant that customers use their existing stones and gold. While he admits it cuts into his profit margin, he believes the sentimental value of the stone carries over to the new piece, which makes the customer happy and often guarantees a repeat purchase.
“It’s really cool when people come in and tell me they want something different, except they often seem to want the same ring they have. That’s when I’ll point out how we can change the design. And the best part is when the customer tells me that ‘I never even considered that possibility.’”
Wolf feels people are too often creatures of habit. Giving them the opportunity to see jewelry from a new design perspective lets them “break out of their social norms.” The next logical step, he says, is expanding social awareness through art. “You can become socially aware just by stepping out of your comfort zone. And you should never cut yourself off from experiencing something because it is different or it’s not your taste.”
That’s all part of his goal for the store. “It’s not about me,” he says. “I want the store to be recognized as doing something different. More importantly, I want a woman to look at jewelry and see something more than a bracelet she’ll put on that day. Jewelry can — and should — be fun, creative and completely unique to the personality of the person wearing it.”
Wolf estimates that lab-grown diamonds account for 20% to 30% of his business. He insists that “they’re not fake — they’re real,” but admits that “diamonds will always overtake them.”
Image: BVW Jewelers in Reno, Nevada.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2019. To subscribe click here.