Hello, and welcome to our redesigned and expanded web site; JonMichaelsJewelers.com. This column is the first of many (hopefully) I plan to write, every other week or so, in an effort to share just a few of my experiences in the jewelry business. This coming fall of 2010 will complete our 31st year in business, and never a day goes by without my learning something, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not so good. I usually divide my time each day with designing and manufacturing, selling both wholesale and retail, and repairing jewelry, and my hope is that by sharing a few of these experiences with my customers will make them better informed and more knowledgeable when making their jewelry buying decisions.
I promise you that I will keep my writing both informal as well as informative, as if I were sitting across a showcase from you and trying to help you decide what your next purchase may be. I also hope you will send me your questions and concerns so that I can better select subjects for future columns. Most of what I write will be my opinion, based on my experience, but please remember that I do make mistakes on occasion. My wife reminds me of that quite often.
My background in this industry dates back to the mid-1970’s when I worked for General Motors and made silver jewelry as a hobby. I began spending any spare time I could find with my Uncle Fred Kuczajda, a jewelry manufacturer with businesses in both Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, learning all I could from a true master craftsman. In 1979 I felt I was ready to try my hand, so my sister, my wife and I opened our store in a small plaza on the edge of Durand, Michigan. A year later Uncle Fred decided to sell his Detroit company so I then purchased Fayrick Mfg. Inc. and moved the equipment to Durand, where it continues to operate under his original name.
The industry, as well as Jon Michael’s Jewelers, have undergone many changes over the past thirty plus years. Having worked in both the automotive field as well as the jewelry business, I can tell you that there are many parallels to be drawn between those two, some of which I will go into in my next column. Someone much more wise than I once said “when we forget the mistakes of our past we are doomed to repeat them”. One thing will never change here at Jon Michael’s: We continue to make the best possible jewelry at the best possible price-guaranteed!
My next column will be about the jewelry manufacturing industry; past-present-and future. Please bookmark this sight and join me then.
Mike
