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Lily & Co.: What Happens When A Business Goes To The Dogs | July 03, 2013 (0 comments)
Sanibel Island, FL—Many jewelers have interesting stories of how their business began. However, few can say their businesses were formed over a cup of coffee and then named after a dog! That's Dan Schuyler's story. Dan is co-owner of Lily & Co., Sanibel Island, FL.
It all started when he and his wife, Sharon, came to Sanibel Island for their anniversary about fifteen years ago. They fell in love with the island, returning for regular vacations, eventually buying a condo there that needed some work. The two were handling the remodel from Maryland, with sporadic trips down. During one of those trips, Dan and Sharon were stranded there when 9/11 occured. He and his wife were talking, enjoying the beach and both realized they were thinking the same thing -- it was time to move to Sanibel Island.
"If you'd asked me 15 years ago if I would ever live in Florida, I'd have said no," said Schuyler. "I was working at Albert Smyth in Timonium, MD, one of the finest organizations in our industry. I was one of the first full-time male sales associates ever to be hired at Smyth. I had to go back to Mark (Motes) and Bob Smyth and tell them I was leaving. Bob said, 'Whatever I can do to make this successful for you, I will do. We want your dreams to come true, Dan.'" Schuyler worked through the Holidays at Smyth's request and they helped with his moving expenses and finding a job. Schuyler today keeps in touch with Mark Motes, saying he was instrumental in opening Lily & Co. He is still an advisor to Schuyler and partner Karen Bell today. As it turned out, industry trainer Shane Decker, of Ex-Sell-ence Shane Decker Sales Academy, assisted Schuyler in finding a jewelry job on the island at Congress Jewelers.
While working there, Schuyler's customer, Karen Bell, wanted a great pair of earrings. Bell owned a successful real estate company and had been an islander for 30 years. She was closing a very big sale and wanted big diamond earrings. She was intimidated by jewelry stores, so Schuyler helped her make the big purchase. She treated him to dinner afterward (his wife was out of town) and they went to Barnes & Noble for coffee. "She looked at me and I looked at her and she said, 'Do you want to open your own store?' And I said, 'Why don't we?'" And that was the beginning.
Exterior of Lily & Co.
Twenty-four hours later, real-estate agent Bell had found the 'perfect' spot, a location on the historical register, formerly the First Baptist Church. They both went to take a look. It had most recently been a bank and had a walk-in vault and security system. They knew it was perfect. A week later, they bought the building. Schuyler quit his job and started building a new business with his new partner.
Naming the business was first on the list. Schuyler and his wife met Bell at their advertising agent's house. Everyone brought suggestions for a name. The ad agent, Steve Martin, had three dogs at that time, all Labrador retrievers. Bell, meanwhile, had one of the first Labradoodles (Labrador/poodle mix) in the United States, Lily, who had been imported from Australia. The group decided on Lily & Co., naming the business for the group of dogs. Martin used a calla lily as the ampersand sign between Lily & Co. as he designed the logo, and it all fell into place.
Owners Karen Bell and Dan Schuyler along with Lily (also shown top of page), Angel, and Grace.
Schuyler says that their aim from the beginning was to offer the customer an experience they can't get anywhere else. "Everything we do is different than a traditional jewelry store. From our parking lot, to the display, to advertising, to how we greet our customers, to our events. For instance, who has a dog birthday party? We do. At the last one, 130 dogs showed up and we raised over $13,000.00 in donation for ARC, the local no kill shelter for dogs.. We think outside the box. We love to have fun with the community."
Two-legged members of Lily & Co. staff.
Schuyler and Bell designed the store to be welcoming, not intimidating. "We wanted customers to feel like guests in our own home. We try and relax our customers before they get in the building with a lovely porch, wind chimes, and water fountains."
Store interior
And then there are the dogs. "They were professionally trained to greet you when you walk into the store, just like in a home," says Schuyler. They also have sage-scented candles burning, hand-designed white bead board, old Florida style showcases and all light colors. We don't have a traditional jewelry store atmosphere. We want our guests to have the experience and feel of walking in to a Florida style vacation home. We have lots of customers on bicycles and in bathing suit. When they come over the causeway, they want to leave the world behind."
Schuyler credits his partner Bell with setting the mood before a guest even has a piece of jewelry in hand. "We wanted to be a true gallery with wearable art, wall art and table art. We pride ourselves on a wonderful collection with lots of one-of-a-kind pieces from world-class designers. We have those alongside local artists' works displayed and supported from Sanibel. "
Lily & Co. began with 1,400 square feet. Since then, they have expanded three times and today have 2900 square feet. They show 11 wall cases of giftware and 44 showcases of fine jewelry and lots of wall area for local artist. The store is staffed by nine employees and they have what Schuyler calls "two seasons: summer and winter." Sanibel and Captiva Island stays busy. "Last year, Frommer's named Sanibel Island the number-one vacation spot in the world. This year, there were a lot of records set for day visitors coming to Sanibel."
Lily & Co. has become known for designer jewelry. Schuyler says it's really all about relationships -- both with his customers and his designers. "We don't sell jewelry, we sell relationships. Because of that, we wanted vendor companies that are owner-operated." Schuyler and Bell believe that things won't always be good in the economy and they wanted relationships that would last. They also believe that lines go hot and cold. If a jeweler has a relationship with a supplier, they can work through any issues. "We set out to form healthy relationships with our vendors," says Schuyler. "Most of our vendors are the ones we started with seven years ago. The only reason we've dropped vendors is if we couldn't develop a relationship with them."
Today, Lily & Co. has quite a roster of designers including: Charles Krypell, Gurhan, Benny Sofer, Dove's, Charles Garnier, Denny Wong, Frederic Sage, Mazza, KC Designs, Breuning, John Bagley, Donna Chambers, Belle Etoile and Royal Pearl, James Breski, Kabana, Michele, H.Weiss, Roberto Demeglio among others.
Along with national vendors, Lily & Co. promotes local artists. "We've tried to infuse a lot of the local artists that live here on Sanibel because that's what our customers want to take home. We have hand glass by Luke Century, the artist who etched the Vietnam Memorial in DC. We carry bowls, wine glasses and have an exclusive Sanibel handbag, Sanibel clock, Sanibel Tide Clock along with artwork by Myra Roberts and Diane Fugit. We have an exclusive Sanibel Captiva bracelet designed by John Allen. And the 'Sanibel Wave' pendant with a hand cut blue topaz stone and diamonds from Spain, that Frederic Sage helped design.
The eclectic collection of Lily & Co. has garnered them several national awards: They won a JCK Award for being one of the Top 10 Designer Jewelry stores in the country in their first year in business, and also have won from 2006 to 2011; in their second year, they won an InStore “Coolest Jewelry Store in America” award; in their third year, a “Five Star Store Award” from JCK; and then a “Top Dog Award” from The Smart Show. And locally, voted “BEST of the Islands” six consecutive years in a row.
Schuyler and Bell are very involved in the Sanibel community. They reach their customers through Facebook and their website, and Schuyler has an e-blast that regularly goes out to customers -- often about personal things rather than business. Schuyler reports that he gets lot of replies back and customer comment on it all the time. Along with beautiful jewelry, canine Lily is a mainstay of the store's advertising. She appears in billboards, print ads, on the store's vehicles and the website, giving additional personality to her namesake store.
"Spud" the truck features Lily the dog plus the store's logo. It's a pretty visible ad vehicle. Below, more of Lily's glamour shots.
The duo also gives back through charities. "We work hard, and give, give, give," says Schuyler. "It's part of being a neighborhood jeweler." At Lily's canine birthday party last year, along with entertaining 130 dogs, the company raised for than $13,000 for a local no-kill shelter in Fort Meyers. They've designed a "Hope for the Cure" collection with Charles Krypell, where 15% of proceeds go to the Susan G. Koman foundation. And they are in process of a "Paws for the Cause" first-ever dog walk on Sanibel.
While wearable art is the main focus at Lily & Co., dogs are a close second for both Schuyler and Bell, along with their customers. "There isn't a day that goes by that someone doesn't come in and bring toys for the dog. People drop by first to see the dogs before they even check in at their hotels. Others come here to get their 'dog fix,' when they've been away from home. Others bring in their pets. It's truly a place to visit, pet the dogs, have a cappuccino or glass of wine, sit on the front porch and read. It's not to just shop. We have a place where people can socialize and have fun."
All the hard work pays off, says Schuyler. While business has grown and expanded, there have been the down times as well. Schuyler remembers not taking home a paycheck for the first year. Still, today, business is very good. "No risk, no reward," he says. "If you do the next right thing, good things will happen to good people." Turns out, work and life is pretty good if you leave the rest to the dogs.
Lily & Co's holiday Facebook photo from 2012.