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From Rockhound Roots To Luxury Jewelry, K-Jons Shines | August 28, 2013 (0 comments)
Atascadero, CA—Stan Sherwin of K-Jon's Fine Jewelry, Atascadero, CA, has a lifetime relationship with rocks. He grew up rockhounding with his parents; today he and wife Mary sell fine rocks in their Atascadero, CA jewelry store. "We'd go out into the Southern California desert and go rockhounding. That's where my love of natural stones began," said Sherwin.
Sherwin says his love of rocks is still alive and well. He started in business after graduating from CalPoly (California Polytechnic State Universidy) and remained in the area. He began selling gems and minerals and exhibited in Tucson through the 70s. In 1980, he opened K-Jon's. The store was named after Sherwin's parents, his mom Kay and his dad Jon.
Initially Sherwin was the only employee and did everything himself. He took Graduate Gemologist (GG) classes when GIA was in Santa Monica and continued to study and learn. He earned his GG degree in the early 80s. From there, the store survived and began to grow. Sherwin kept working and selling, hiring additional employees as he went. "I used to do it all," said Sherwin. "Repair, sales, customer designs, stone settings, the whole ball of wax."
The store continued to grow, and is today staffed with nine key employees. "Mary and I are both very active in the business," says Sherwin. "We offer day-to-day leadership and our crew decides how they will run the store." Sherwin doesn't do any buying any more, instead letting the younger women in the store make the decision "since they know what the customers want."
The store's exterior and sign.
Sherwin and Mary have one daughter in business. "She's been here since day one," says Sherwin. "When she would get out of kindergarten she'd come here. She grew up cleaning showcases." While their daughter Stacey is primarily a mom, she works 2-3 days a week and is a Graduate Gemologist.
Stan and Mary Sherwin with their daughter and granddaughter, above, and below, Stan and Mary having fun at an AGS Conclave in San Francisco.
Sherwin's management style is one of transferring responsibility. He tells his employees, "I'm not here to keep your job here. You are here to keep your job here." He offers his employees authority to make decisions and they grow into it. Clearly his methods are working if his employee's longevity in their job is any indication. "We have three employees who have been here more than 21 years. Two, more than 16 years. Two, more at 10+ years." One ongoing incentive that Sherwin offers is education. "As long as they want to take courses, we will educate them all. We pay 100%. As a result, we have four GG's on staff and soon will add a fifth."
Sherwin keeps up with education at trade shows throughout the industry. "That's one reason we enjoy the Centurion Jewelry show so much," said Sherwin. "We are mingling with quality store owners and suppliers that are there. We always enjoy the education and are very excited about seeing Bill Clinton next year."
Sherwin hasn't taken his business success for granted. "We had to re-analyze the business over the last years. We would either survive or go down together. We all hung in there and made changes. We re-thought the business -- every little thing about it. Sometimes we get too complacent." The reflections paid off. "We're nine very experienced people coming out of a recession," says Sherwin. "We're poised in a great position."
One change to K-Jon's fine jewelers business was to inventory. "We're always analyzing inventory," said Sherwin. "We started with natural stones and we resisted getting any cheaper goods in. Instead we focused on diamond pricing. We can't keep the diamond inventory we once did on hand. The fluctuation in diamond and precious metal prices has forced all of us to be smarter in the way we handle our inventories."
Sherwin keeps his eyes on the fine jewelry, not the rockhound finds, although he does have some nice mineral specimens around the showroom. "I said we have a jewelry store, not a rock store," he jokes. "When we do events, we show the customers the specimens and talk with them about where stones come from. Customers appreciate finer gemstones; that they come from the earth and are natural. We share that with our customers so they appreciate what they have."
While Sherwin has always been the rockhound, his wife Mary isn't far behind. "Mary went to Tanzania and Kenya with a stone cutter. They bought in the bush from diggers, miners, etc., sort of a glorified rockhound thing. They are mining from a hole in the ground," says Sherwin. "We're having the rough cut that she bought there and we're doing an event with the finished goods next month. She has photos of that trip we'll be sharing. We want the customers to connect the fact that these are natural stones, rare, and they are mined by small companies and individuals, not large operations." Below, K-Jon's website with a promo for Mary's trip and a Facebook post showcasing one of the bench jewelers.
K-Jons homepage, above, and a post from its Facebook page, below.
Sherwin says his advertising and outreach to customers has changed. "I don't personally watch commercials on TV, so we're doing less TV. We have billboards as well. There's no one magic bullet, but we stay active in the community. We have main charities we support, one is to raise grant money for teachers in classrooms, called CAPS. It's not a charity for the school district, it's support classrooms and students. "
"Another one is the local food bank," says Sherwin. "We do ear piercing and $25 of each piercing goes to the food bank. We bring in more money that way than asking for donations." Here's a recent story about K-Jon's and the local foodbanks.
For the Sherwins and K-Jons, giving back is a routine part of business. "We've been here for 40 years. We try to give back. There's a local veterans memorial that we've supported. We're getting into a new library. We're involved in things that impact the community," said Sherwin. "I like the kids, so we're involved with charities that support the kids and family."
Along with the local charity work, Sherwin's staff keeps the store's presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. "I've got a lot of young employees," said Sherwin. "I said, you guys go do it." His plan has worked well.
Today, K-Jon's Fine Jewelers is 3,000 square feet. Of that, 1,000 square feet comprises an event hall with double doors that open off the show floor. "It's a great side room when we have an event," says Sherwin. "We can seat 60, it's comfortable for customers." The showroom is about 1,500 square feet. Three bench jewelers take up the remaining space.
Below, a festive interior at K-Jon's, and Mary Sherwin behind the counter at a Ladies Night in the store.
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Sherwin recalls his bench roots. "Since I started at the bench, I've always felt that it was important to do work on premises. Two of our bench jewelers have been here over 20 years. One is newer. It's fun to watch them work. We do it all, from handcarving, to fabricating, to CAD/CAM work."
So is Sherwin still a rockhound after all these years? "Well, I've always got my eye to the ground," says Sherwin. "Last week we were in Baja and I kept my eyes on the ground, both me and Mary and our grandkids. The grandkids are always finding something to show me. All of my rockhound finds are under one tree in the backyard and the grandkids are always playing with them." Sounds like the rockhound gene is prevalent in Sherwin's family!