We recently connected with Pat Ryan and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Pat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

The idea for Jewels of Jaipur was initially romantic – the jewels, the artisans, the environment, and the culture of India – how everything comes together to present a beautiful concept. After a career as a buyer specializing in fine jewelry, I developed a love for these creations. This jewelry integrates gemstones with gold and silver resulting in unique styling and composition.

To turn this into a business, I had to address the nuts and bolts in a business model that would produce revenue. The business model is constantly evolving as the environment and demand for our product develops.

It turns out that the critical success factor has been displaying the jewelry in a high profile sales environment such as regional trade shows. Starting in Dallas, JOJ has expanded nationally and is now a regular in High Point, NC and had been in Las Vegas pre-Covid. In the post-Covid era, JOJ is exploring opportunities to return to Las Vegas and enter other major markets in the U.S. Our new markets will focus on retail boutiques within art galleries. All the shows provide a good place for wholesale customers to notice these one-of-a-kind items and encourage them to purchase them for sale to their customers. It turns out – and it surprised us – that there is real demand for high-end pieces. When these pieces are positioned where they are easy to find and with a strong visual presentation, people learn to come early before these items sell out.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I landed in Delhi with ideas of the product I wanted. My initial thoughts were that I would create the designs myself. I was given an agent’s name by my contact in Dallas to show me around. It became apparent immediately that we had different taste and that his background was in textiles. There were several companies that had product that were brass-based and often included glass stones. The products were good renditions of current looks but not the quality or interpretation I was anticipating. I spent a couple more days in Delhi and did, by chance, find one jeweler at an upscale market who had lovely gemstone items as well as a beautiful vintage collection. I left Delhi for Jaipur with an optimistic view. I had a wonderful article from the Wall Street Journal with me that highlighted interesting spots in Jaipur. Plus, my contact in Dallas had the name of someone he thought I should meet. Two days of scouting in Jaipur with my article as a guide was perfect. I found two artisans that had silver items with gemstones and others that had silver with gold plate and gemstones and other wonderful vintage pieces. This was not enough themselves for a collection but were good additions.Finally, I went to my appointment with the recommended company in Jaipur. It was amazing! I saw beautifully crafted cuffs, bracelets, earrings, and rings! The pieces were just the kind of collection I was looking for, however they were brass based with silver or gold plate. Still, it was a start, and with the other artisans I found in Delhi and Jaipur, I had a lovely collection for my first show.It turned out that the brass-based collection sold very well, but the artisans did not continue to evolve in their styles. In my future buying trips, I was on the hunt for another silver-based group to take the place of the brass. Finally, I found an exceptional artisan group to provide the silver-based items with gold and gemstones. Today, they are my largest provider.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After college, Retail was my life. Starting in a Management training program, I worked up through the branch stores until I reached Assistant Buyer. At that point, I was more than eager to have my first buying position. I had some great references and was chosen for a buyer position in Home Furnishings in another city. That was the start of an extensive career of buying in Pittsburgh, PA. One of my favorite buying positions was ready-to-wear. It was exciting and always evolving. Later, I joined a fine jewelry company to run a Pittsburgh jewelry division of fifty stores. That was exciting and challenging to learn and run. My management responsibilities included overseeing a group of buyers, advertising assistant, branch store regionals, and human resources. It was a great team. I worked in fine Jewelry for many years. It eventually brought me to my decision to have my own business. Jewels of Jaipur was born with the credentials of my jewelry background but with a whole new inspiration for “one of a kind” artisan made gemstone jewelry with silver base and gold plate. Our assortments include vintage jewelry, classic India styles, as well as the wide variety artisan developed gemstone styles that are available in Jaipur and neighboring areas. The Indian Artisan styles vary from classic to ornate built around the characteristics of the gemstone. Then, I made another pivot. We started our business with five artisan groups and have since narrowed it to two groups that are more focused. Covid caused the shift. Prior to Covid, I traveled to India twice a year to collaborate with the artisans. Since then, I have selected two of the groups to focus on and communicate with them on ZOOM calls. Because of time differences, this has required hours in the middle of the night to select the jewelry. It is difficult for me not to have the “hands on” option to try the pieces on. These two groups are always looking for “the next exciting look.” We anticipate adding another Artisan group when I can travel to India again.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @JewelsOfJaipurPatRyan
• Facebook: @jewelsofJaipurpatryan
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/patriciaaryan
• Twitter: @JaipurOf

Image Credits
the images I have submitted were from my camera. There are no issues with them. Pat Ryan