We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lee Ann Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lee Ann, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I was a practicing lawyer and took metal smithing classes for fun with a friend at the Southwest School of Art years ago. It was the one time during the week that I was completely able to unwind and not think about anything else and I fell in love with the process. My friend quit after one class but I kept taking courses. After making several pieces that were literally purchased off of my neck, I decided I just might have a business. I experimented with high end costume jewelry in the beginning and was still practicing law at the same time. I had always wanted to design fine jewelry but was nervous because of the large investment required. I finally decided to give it a try in 2017 and established my brand, Lee Jones Collection. When my line was picked up by several stores, I knew I could no longer practice law and run a new business successfully so decided to retire my law license after practicing for over 20 years. When I dropped my Bar Card in the mail to return it to the State Bar of Texas I felt peace and knew I had made the right decision. I like to say I left the legal world behind because there are no billable hours in jewelry design, but really it was because jewelry is beautiful and lends itself to celebrating special people and occasions. And all of that just makes life more fun.

Parts of my road have been straight and easy…others full of curves. The business side has come fairly easy to me which I attribute to having practiced law for so many years and working with and in businesses. At the same time, I have had to learn about an entirely different industry and all that goes with sourcing and purchasing materials, CAD design, manufacturing, marketing, social media, etc. in the fine jewelry world. Most everything I do with regard to manufacturing is outside of San Antonio, so it has taken significant time and energy as well as a few failures, to land with manufacturing partners who hold the same standards of quality that I demand. And of course there have been mistakes along the way…but with each one I have found myself becoming a better designer and business person along the way.

Lee Ann, 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?

Arriving to this calling later in life has given me such perspective on what it means to work at something you truly enjoy doing. I have been blessed to make some of the most memorable and significant pieces for my customers that each are unique and tell a story. I work hard to really capture the uniqueness of each story in my design and believe that the opportunity to create to love others is a gift and that is what probably makes my heart sing the loudest.

I have become known for some of my bespoke and custom designs. One of my most memorable was a charm I made for a woman who lost both of her parents to Covid during the pandemic. The hospital gave her tiny EKG strips of their last heartbeats. I took those strips and designed a charm for her where I matched each of their last heartbeats together so that she could always wear their hearts close to hers. And that is just one of my many favorites.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I believe one of the most important standards I have set for my business is exceptional customer service. My team and I go the extra mile to help our customers with everything from making the decision to purchase, ensuring their purchase arrives to them or their recipient packaged beautifully, going through as many iterations as necessary on a custom piece to make sure they will be thrilled with the end product, driving out of town to deliver pieces if there is a time crunch…you name it we will do everything in our power to make it happen. We try to stay in contact at every stage of the client purchase process and love keeping a touch point after purchase so that there is a real relationship.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

First and foremost is the quality of my product – I committed early on to the highest of standards and work with select gem dealers and bench jewelers to see my designs to come to fruition. And that commitment extends to my selected stockists – we work as a team to give our customers the best customer service alongside quality jewelry.

Second is my customer service philosophy. Without my customers I would not have a business and I want to express my gratitude for their support by extending service they feel is exceptional and maybe a little exquisite.

Last, I enjoy a solid reputation among the stores I work with for being kind, organized, delivering to expectations and willingness to try and accommodate requests. They have helped me build my reputation by providing me the stage to showcase my art and have also taught me a lot along the way and I want to repay that with a mutually respectful relationship.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leejonescollection.com
• Instagram: @leejonescollection
• Facebook: Lee Jones Collection
• Linkedin: Lee Ann Jones

Image Credits

Lilianna Story
Jason Risner