We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Patricia Carruth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Patricia , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Most jewelers & jewelry stores sell engagement rings first trying to sell the premade rings they have in their store & then if necessary offer the custom design route. I believe everyone’s love story is different & we all deserve rings just as unique & expressive of that love. I instead carry samples for clients to try on & get a grasp on their style and then design a custom ring with added sentimental details to really make it special.
Patricia , 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?
My grandfather owned a fine jewelry pawn store that I worked at when I was younger. That’s where my love of jewelry was sparked and I’ve always had a passion for storytelling. As a kid I would be enamored by all the sparkle and make up stories about the pieces based on the style, engravings & hallmarks. Like who previously owned it, what their life was like, who designed it & how they wanted to wearer to feel. (Happy, beautiful, protected, fierce,loved)
I’ve also always been a romantic & all around lover of love. As a young adult I set my sights on becoming a wedding planner. From a young age I knew I wanted to have my own business & be my own boss. A wedding planner fit the bill and I would get to be apart of my favorite industry, the wedding industry!
To support myself through college I had a job at a local mom & pops fine jewelry store that specialized in custom design. Then I planned my own wedding & it completely changed my mind on my career path. My husband saw how much I took on at the jewelry store I was working at & told me “Why are you putting so much effort into someone else’s business when you could be doing it for yourself? That sparked something in me that I hadn’t dared to image for myself before. I founded Your Personal Jeweler in 2017 & started selling to friends & family out of the spare room in my house. I enrolled at GIA (The Gemological Institute of America) & received my Graduate Diamonds Diploma in 2018. In 2019, I opened a design studio specializing in creating custom engagement ring utilizing CAD software & 3D printing. It married [pun intended ;)] my love of love, jewelry & storytelling. In addition to custom engagement rings & wedding bands I redesign client’s heirloom jewelry, make fine jewelry collections available at both wholesale & retail level as well as work one on one to help clients curate a fine jewelry collection.
2022 has been a monumental year for me & my business. I won a national design competition, debuted my teal sapphire engagement ring at JCK the largest jewelry industry trade show and expanded to a storefront. We’re located in the heart of downtown Royal Oak and are excited to serve our local community & well as our global clients.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Being a 3rd generation jeweler definitely helped to build trust. Fine jewelry can hold a very emotional & dear place in peoples heart. A lot of people hear the horror stories of my industry like diamonds being swapped out, family heirlooms being ruined by subpar repair men or businesses closing & taking clients jewelry. While being a 3rd generation jeweler got my foot in the door being knowledgeable & sharing that knowledge with others is what helped me build a trustworthy reputation. When I first start even though I had been in the business for as long as I could remember I was a novice at running a business. I also made sure to be slow & intentional about growing my business & learned quickly from my mistakes with family & friends before being scaling to serve a wider audience.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I know it sounds cliché but I just showed up. I also made sure that “selling” post only made up about 10% & the rest was insightful, educational, emotional or fun. I let go of the idea of a perfectly curated page & started showing up authentically & imperfectly me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thepersonaljeweler.com
- Instagram: @thepersonaljeweler
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/thepersonaljeweler
- Linkedin: Patricia Carruth