Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katelynne Eslick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Katelynne, appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

In 2013, I began the work of opening my retail jewelry store in a small location with myself as the only employee. It took my husband and I, along with the help of some incredible friends, four months to get the space ready. At that point in my career, I had been operating my business from home, literally from the kitchen table. Because of that, I was able to continue selling handcrafted jewelry pieces to help fund my start-up costs. In my downtown location, I started small but invested in things that I felt showed the community that I was serious as a “real” business. Some examples of those things were a nice, lighted business sign, custom display cases, and well-made display elements. In order to make those purchases a possibility, I asked companies I was working with if they could extend any payment terms for a very low interest rate, which several were able to offer.

As my store grew, in order to be cautious with funds and not overextend myself, I forged important relationships with people and companies who I was able to partner with to help me grow my business. One tactic that I was able to utilize was working with vendor partners who would lend me merchandise (called a memo) with the agreement that I’d pay for the merchandise when it sold. Those relationships were very important as I scaled from a 100% handcrafted jewelry store into carrying other lines and expanding my offering as a fine jewelry store.

About five years after I opened, I realized that my business had grown too much to successfully remain in the location we were in – at that point I had two full time employees as well as my father and my husband, Jayson, working with me. My husband and I purchased an old building in a prime location in town, with the plan to build a new building there. We ran into a major obstacle when it became obvious that we weren’t going to be able to build on that location, but instead of giving up we took it as an opportunity to grow our business even more – as well as taking a leap of faith! We purchased a historic mansion in 2022, relocated our store into it in 2023, and have grown even more than we ever imagined. We now employ 3-4 full time employees, several part-time, and have the honor of being an anchoring business in our community. In 2024, we were recognized nationally as one of the Coolest Stores in America.

The takeaways: don’t be afraid to grow slow and smart; develop symbiotic relationships with others in your industry; get involved and invested in your community; and when you’re on the edge of a big decision, follow your inner voice and take a leap. As my mother told me, “Fly, Sugar Plum, fly”.

Katelynne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m actually a third-generation jeweler, but didn’t inherit or take over a family store. My grandfather and grandmother originally owned our family jewelry store, and my parents took it over in the late 1980s. In the late 1990s, with a huge shift in the economy of our little town, my parents made the decision to close their retail store, but my father stayed in the industry as a diamond broker. As a child, and even as a young adult, I never envisioned myself as ‘the jeweler in town’, even though I sold my first diamond when I was three years old (I don’t remember, but my parents have told me the very cute story of how it happened many times!) and I’ve been around jewelry and diamonds all my life. When I first went to college, I started as an English major and then switched to Nursing. While in school, I needed an outlet for my creativity and began making jewelry as a hobby. Soon, I was being asked to create custom jewelry, and I realized pretty quickly that jewelry really was my calling in life! I always say I went the long way around to become a jeweler.

Now, my specialty is custom jewelry, with a focus on re-designing heirloom pieces which I call “Legacy Jewelry”. I help clients turn their treasured pieces into new designs which they’ll love and pass on. I also create one of a kind pieces which are available in our store and online, and I’ve developed ten distinct style collections that my designs become part of. One of my most popular collections is the Montana Sky Collection which represents Montana skyscapes with colorful Montana Sapphires. Several of my designs have won design awards! We also solve problems for our customers who need jewelry repair, as we offer those services in-house.

I’m most proud of the way we are involved in our community, believing that it’s our responsibility to be good stewards of our community; our commitment to customer experience being better and more luxurious that they even expected; and the fact that our customers choose us every time to help them celebrate or memorialize all the little and big things in life. We’ve also been honored with multiple community, state and national awards which we’re very proud of!

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I founded the business alone, but my husband became my business partner in 2018, about five years after I opened.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I didn’t take out any loans and honestly, we drained our bank account and maxed out our credit cards in order to open the business initially. I wish I had taken a different route, like utilizing a lower interest rate business loan, so if I could go back and do it all again that’s something I would be smarter about!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sugarplumfinejewelry.com
• Instagram: @Sugarplumfinejewelry
• Facebook: Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry

Image Credits

Jenny Burman Photography
Lisa Kelly Photography
Tneea Deshner