future 12

FUTURE
Pr
THE
PERFECTIONIST
IAN
GOODCHILD
P
THE
PRESIDENT
ERIK
HALFACRE
Vp
THE
VICEPRESIDENT
DANIELLE
INGWER
Te
Ss
THE
EXPERIMENTER
THE
SMOOTH
SELLER
BELLE
BROOKE
BARER
BRIANA
COLLINS
12
Ga
THE
GEMSTONE
ARTIST
JOHN
DYER
Dm
THE
DREAMER
ELICHAI
FOWLER
BY E IL E E N M c C L E L L A N D
ELEMENTS
A GENERATION OF RISING YOUNG STARS is poised to lead the jewelry industry
into the next phase of its existence. The careers of a dozen of them, ages 24 through 31,
who represent a cross section of the business, are celebrated on the following pages.
Tp
Ti
Dd
En
Bl
THE
PARTNER
THE
INNOVATOR
THE
DIAMOND
DEALER
THE
ENTREPRENEUR
THE
BLOGGER
RUSSELL
KWIAT
MEGAN
THORNE
MARIO
MACIAS
SHEA
LEECH
MICHAEL
SCHECHTER
WHATEVER INDUSTRY NICHE THEY OCCUPY, they
are increasingly called upon to navigate a changing
retail environment influenced by the Internet, and
they tend to seek each other out in an effort to share
and learn.
The jewelry industry
is a fragmented momand-pop kind of industry with a certain way
of thinking about business,” says
Russell Kwiat, a 30-year-old partner
with Kwiat. “We need to adapt to a
changing environment and a modern
environment. My generation is living
and breathing the Internet and socialnetworking sites. So certainly we
can be more aligned and attuned
to the new customer.”
There is a sense that the industry overall is becoming less secretive
and more collaborative, due in part
to the changing notions of privacy
associated with social networking.
Mario Macias, 30, founder of
the 188-member Young Jewelers
Association and a diamond dealer
with Atlantic Diamonds, sees barriers crashing all around him. “The
old-school mentality is you just don’t
talk to anybody,” Macias says. “We do
share a lot of information, and I think
the industry’s better for it.”
Megan Thorne, 29, a designer in
Fort Worth, TX, has found support
among her peers. “It’s better for all
of us whenever someone grows and
does better.” People launching their
careers or their businesses are likely
to want to learn from one another,
she says. “The newer your company,
the more collaborative you are, the
more you are hoping to connect with
other people.”
Michael Schechter, 30, director
of digital marketing for his family
business, Honora in New York,
is a board member of Gen-Next
Jewelers. One goal of the networking group, he says, is to bridge
the conversational gap between man70
APRIL 2010
ufacturers and retailers. “There are
a lot of challenges facing our industry,” Schechter says. “The more open
conversations we have, the better off
we’re going to be. It would be ridiculous to say it’s only for people of a certain age or at a certain position. It’s
open to anyone who wants to have a
conversation about the direction of
the industry.”
Kwiat of New York, a founding
member of Gen-Next Jewelers,
says he hopes the group can work
together to shape the industry.
“I’d like Gen-Next to become the
conversational medium for the new
generation of people who will run or
be influential in the businesses, the
best thinkers in our industry. We can
be the voice of the industry,” Kwiat
says.
The Young Jewelers Association,
organized as a local group by Chicagobased Macias, has gone global due to
the ease of Internet communication. “We keep in touch through
Facebook and we pick each
other’s brains,” Macias says.
“Officially, the age cap is 35, but we
take anyone willing to think in a different manner.”
“We do
share a lot of
information,
and I think
the industry’s
better for it.”
— Mario Macias
Macias says because young jewelers often work for someone else, it
may be difficult to meet other “worker bees” without such a group. “The
YJA provides an atmosphere where
you can do face-to-face social networking, fostering new friendships
and business partners for the future,”
Macias says.
Erik Halfacre, 30-year-old president of Traditional Jewelers in
Newport Beach and Malibu, CA,
says that he and his contemporaries who grew up in family
businesses have long sought out one
another at industry events, creating an informal support group. “We
may see each other four or five or six
times a year and can cement deeprooted friendships and build those
relationships into business relationships, too,” he says. “It’s nice to have a
sounding board. We all deal with the
same end consumer, so it’s important
to know the wholesale side, too.”
For designers, a changing environment has already had an impact. “I’m
the worst when it comes to new ways
of communicating; when it comes to
Twitter and all that stuff, I am probably like an 80-year-old woman,”
Thorne says. “But I notice that many
jewelers are growing their brands
that way, getting customers still
in their teens.”
Having young leadership is
no guarantee a business will
be immersed in Internet sales
and marketing. The usual obstacles
still exist.
Halfacre says his company is “putting a toe in the water” of nontraditional marketing. He knows more
needs to be done, but it requires a
strategy and a time commitment.
“It’s something you can’t fake, so if
you are going to do it, you have to do
it right,” he says.
In addition, few people in traditional brick-and-mortar stores, no matter
their age, want to risk what has been a
successful business model in favor of
e-commerce. “The challenge for the
jewelry industry,” Halfacre says, “is
to find a happy medium.”
That is one theme Gen-Next Jewelers
frequently discusses.
“We are trying to figure it out,”
Schechter says. “How do we keep
the relationships we have but make
sure that our industry doesn’t get left
behind?”
THE EXPERIMENTER
JEWELRY DESIGNER
BELLE BROOKE BARER,
31, of LA, says her career
has been shaped as much
by failure as success. Her
first trade show — The
San Francisco Gift Fair —
for example, she describes
as disastrous.
Te
THE
EXPERIMENTER
1
B EL LE B RO O K E BAR E R, 31
2008 Best New Designer at JANY,
studied photography in college, began
selling jewelry at farmers markets
TODD PRITCHETT JDVVC – CREATIVE VISUAL SOLUTIONS
“I did everything completely
wrong,” she says. “On the second
day, I was in the aisle taking apart
and rearranging my booth, which was
really bad etiquette. I was freaking
out. It was horrible. But it was a great
learning experience. The things that
have been the most meaningful for
me, in terms of character-building
and challenging myself, have been all
of the failures.”
There have been notable successes, too. In 2007 she won a businessdevelopment grant that gave her
a shot of confidence and publicity.
In 2008 she was named best new
designer of the year at JANY.
Jewelry was always a hobby. While
studying photography in college, she
made and sold jewelry at a farmers
market. After college, she reconsidered her career, quitting a photography job to make jewelry full-time
and then returning to school for professional training. She worked as a
goldsmith before launching her own
business, Belle Brooke Designs, in Los
Angeles.
Photography continues to exert an
influence.
“When I began designing the collections, I wanted something that
had all the characteristics I liked in
photography — contrast, form and
strong lines. I wanted to add a threedimensional element. I think my jewelry has all of those elements I liked
about classical black and white photography.”
She is also inspired by early 20thcentury industrial objects and factories — ideally rusting or falling
apart. And by textbook-depictions
of microorganisms. “A lot of things
we build and make are modeled on
nature,” she says. Barer’s latest collection has an art-deco look that
features large, colorful stones
and marquise and pear-shaped
semi-precious cabochons.
She wants to keep the business small and personal. “I
strongly, strongly believe in
manufacturing in America,
in keeping jobs here. I don’t
think I’ll ever outsource to
China, and if I do, I should
be shot.”
“Instead of just carrying major brands, people who are opening up
stores or looking to expand are moving toward young designers.”
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APRIL 2010
BRIANA COLLINS, 25,
has been a million-dollar
sales star at Collins Family
Jewelers in San Diego, CA,
since she graduated from
college three years ago. “I
was lucky to be born into
something that I truly love
doing,” says Collins, who
worked briefly in a pizza
place before her dad hired
her on at age 16.
At that age, she says — exaggerating just a little — she didn’t know the
Ss
THE
SMOOTH
SELLER
2
B R I A NA CO LL I N S, 25
Million-dollar seller, hired in family’s
store at 16, previous experience at a
pizza parlour
CARESSE MUIR, MUIR IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHY
THE SMOOTH SELLER
difference between a wedding band
and a watchband.
These days she’s buying and selling.
Selling makes buying easier, she
says. “I know what people are asking
for and I’m really true to myself and
true to our store. We love trying new
lines, but I won’t try it if it’s not something that’s a good fit for us. I want to
minimize costs and streamline inventory, focus on core lines that are easy
for us to convey to a customer and
move. I feel like I’ve really trimmed
the fat.”
When it comes to sales, she prefers an informal, conversational style
to a formula. She enjoys exceeding
customers’ expectations about her
youth as well as the jewelry business.
JOHN DYER, 31,
has exhibited an
entrepreneurial spirit ever
since he sold donuts as
a street vendor in Brazil,
where he lived as a homeschooled teenager with his
missionary family.
“It helped me get comfortable
dealing with people because
donuts were not a known
product in Brazil,” Dyer says.
“I had to create a market for
them. That was a very helpful maturing process.”
When the family returned
to the States, his father,
David, helped 16-yearold John, who was fascinated by the compact
beauty of gemstones, pursue his interest as a career.
“My dad didn’t have a job after
coming back from the mission
field,” Dyer explains. “We got some
gems on memo from a guy and tried
74
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But while she likes to try new things
she respects important traditions,
such as writing every thank-you
note by hand.
Some of Collins’ clients visit
several times a month. Her
secret?
“I treat every single person
like they are my friend. Many of
them have never been treated
like that before in a retail setting. When you open your heart
up to them, they trust you and
come to you for everything. At
my college graduation party,
my customers outnumbered
my family members.”
THE GEMSTONE ARTIST
to sell them without a great deal of
success. So we decided to go overseas and buy them ourselves in an
effort to get them at a better price.”
A trip to Zambia turned into a misadventure. Jealous African gem dealers accused them of buying stolen
goods and tried to have them arrested. Fortunately, they had obtained
official permission to be there and to
buy gems.
Ga
THE
GEMSTONE
ARTIST
3
JOHN DYE R, 3 1
Has awards from AGTA & IdarOberstein, sold donuts on the street in
Brazil, was almost arrested in Zambia
LYDIA DYER
Finding that few cut gems were
available in Zambia, though, the Dyers
had to buy rough, ranging in quality
from good to fake.
“Going to Zambia wasn’t superlucrative, but it got me into cutting
because we had these rough gemstones which we had no idea how to
sell as rough,” he says. “By the grace
of God that’s what got us into cutting, which has become our real forte
and niche in the market.”
Dyer, who is completely self-taught,
has been winning annual AGTA
Cutting Edge awards since 2002. In
2009, he also added a trophy from
Idar-Oberstein, Germany, to his collection. “I like the challenge — buying
the best rough I can, examining it and
coming up with the best possible use
of each piece. It’s a design challenge.”
WHEN ELICHAI
FOWLER, 31, spent time
in Israel between high
school and college,
he had a revelation.
THE DREAMER
“Something strange happened to
me,” he says. “When I tried to sleep at
night I would close my eyes and start
to see images of jewelry and gems
I had never seen before. The only
way to eliminate it was to get up and
sketch what I had seen. To me it was
almost like a sign or a confirmation.”
It confirmed his decision to study
metalsmithing at the University of
Bozeman. In high school, he had done
some welding and ironwork with his
dad, which produced a sword and
some knives, “weapons, like a typical
teenager would do.”
While in college, he also studied
engraving. “I carved wood as a child
and engraving is like carving metal.
That was the most exciting class I
ever took.”
In 2005 he started Paradise Ring
Works of Livingston, MT, which is
primarily retail. In 2009 alone, that
business grew 47 percent. “I have a
real passion for quality and craftsmanship. I spend very little on advertising and my business has almost
doubled every year since I started. It’s
word of mouth, a focus on customer
service and heirloom-quality craftsmanship.”
Eli has noticed a revival of interest
in craftsmanship and quality.
“My goal is to make unique jewelry
designed so well that it will be passed
down and valued and enjoyed after
I’m gone. Working as an appraiser,
Dm
4
THE
DREAMER
E LICHAI FOWLE R, 3 1
Business grew 47% in 2009,
wants to revive heirloomquality craftsmanship
EUBANK PHOTOGRAPHY
I’ve seen so many pieces that come
in and are melted down. It’s the
craftsmanship pieces that don’t get
melted down. Those are the pieces
that people love and want to hang
on to. I want to build pieces that last,
that are built to be worn through a
lifetime.”
“My goal is to make unique jewelry
designed so well that it will be passed down
and valued and enjoyed after I’m gone.”
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APRIL 2010
IAN GOODCHILD, 24,
began his career as a
bench jeweler six years
ago, when he walked in
off the street into Joel
McFadden Designs in
Red Bank, NJ, to see if
McFadden had any job
openings — and then
asked what was involved
in the work. “I had sort
of a rough idea,” says
Goodchild, whose primary
motivation was to escape
restaurant work.
THE PERFECTIONIST
Goodchild worked part-time until
he got to the point where he “wasn’t
going to start wrecking stuff,” as he
puts it. McFadden, sensing potential,
sent Goodchild to the New Approach
School for Jewelers, where he
learned the basics from Blaine Lewis.
Everything else, McFadden taught
Goodchild — or Goodchild learned
on his own. He has become known
throughout the industry as a platinum
expert.
Goodchild grew up on a farm,
where he had used welding torches
and had done steel-fabrication
work. “Joel found out I liked running
a torch and was good at it. I kept at
it and within a year or two I had more
experience than everyone else there.
It takes a lot of patience. You have
to be able to sit there and chase
the little imperfections until they go
away. A lot of people have issues
Pr
THE
PERFECTIONIST
IAN GOODCHILD, 24
Got his start at 18, motivation then:
to escape restaurant work, motivation now: perfection
TERRI BLAIR
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5
“It takes a lot of patience.
A lot of people have
issues with that.”
with that. They want to call it good
enough and just stop there.”
Goodchild says his occupation
suits his style, since he usually has
enough time to make it perfect. “But
there are aggravating moments
when something goes wrong and you
swear at the piece until it behaves
itself. And some stuff can get a little
tedious. Over Christmas, we built an
Asscher-cut necklace with 116 tiny
little platinum links that all had to be
finished. It took about four weeks
but it was very impressive. Most of
my friends have desk jobs or join the
Army or whatever. To actually be
able to make things is becoming a
lost art.”
THE PRESIDENT
ERIK HALFACRE, 30,
president of Traditional
Jewelers in Newport
Beach and Malibu, CA,
practically was born in the
family store. “People tell
me they remember seeing me in the baby swing,”
says Halfacre, whose parents and extended family
founded the business.
P
THE
PRESIDENT
ERIK H A L FAC RE, 30
Worked his way from baby swing to
president’s office, steered family’s
store through the recession
COURTESY OF TRADITIONAL JEWELERS
6
At age 16, he was asked to deliver
a $50,000 necklace to a customer in
Santa Barbara. Worried about driving three hours with a new driver’s
license and a piece that valuable, he
took two puddle-jumper planes and
a cab instead.
But he didn’t always work in the
business.
“I was leery of coming into the business at such a young age, so my first
“When I came in here it was
at the bottom of the pickle barrel,
and I worked my way up.”
job out of college was doing internships at other places,” he recalls. “So
it wasn’t just ‘Here’s the owner’s son;
hand him the keys.’ When I came in
here it was at the bottom of the pickle barrel, so to speak, and I worked
my way up.”
Nearly three years ago, Erik’s dad,
Marion, died suddenly at age 58. Erik
worked with his family to get through
that tough time, soon exacerbated by
what he characterizes as the worst
economy in the history of time.
“To go through these rough waters
and come through them is my proudest moment in the business. I got
married the year my father passed
and experienced the birth of my first
child. There’s been a lot of growing up
I’ve had to do to earn trust.”
To navigate the recession, Halfacre
has gone more aggressively after the
bridal market than in years past. He’s
also streamlined inventory.
“I most enjoy the interaction with
people. To be in sales, to do what we
do, is a people business. I want to be
out on the floor and be the extrovert
that I am, not sit in a cubicle somewhere and crunch numbers.”
DANIELLE INGWER,
31, VP of marketing and
technology for Leo Ingwer,
enjoys her job most
when she thinks of the
celebrations and happy
occasions that come from
her behind-the-scenes
efforts.
THE VICE PRESIDENT
Leo Ingwer sells finished diamond
jewelry to the trade as well as under
the Leo Ingwer name. Leo, Danielle’s
grandfather, began the company as
a small midtown shop in 1939.
“Occasionally I’ll work in our
showroom where our customers
bring in their customers, or I help
my own friends who are getting
engaged. That, to me, is the best
part of my job, but that’s a bonus,
it’s not my everyday job.” The nutsand-bolts part is devising a workflow
system that will add interactivity to
the company’s recently redesigned
website, for which she was also
project manager.
She is one of six family members
in the business, including her father,
who has worked in the business
nearly 40 years.
“I wanted to go to college and
create my own path. So I studied
fashion design and designed dresses
Vp
THE
VICE
PRESIDENT
7
DANIE LLE INGWE R, 3 1
Treasurer of NYC WJA, studied fashion design, plays guitar, can’t sing.
DON KOZUSKO, DK PHOTOIMAGING INC.
82 82
APRIL
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20102010
in the garment district. But shortly
after my grandfather passed away, I
realized that working with my family
was more of an opportunity than I
originally thought. It was the best
thing I ever did.”
What’s next for Ingwer? “In the
broad sense, I want to continue my
grandfather’s name and legacy in
the manner befitting his memory
while also working with other family
members to continue the business,
to grow it and to hand it down to
another generation of Ingwers. In the
short term, I try to reach as many
retailers as possible, and help them
to understand their customers.”
Ingwer is treasurer of the New York
City metro chapter of the Women’s
Jewelry Association, she loves playing
tennis and baking, and recently began
learning to play the guitar. “It’s like
learning a different language,” she
says. “My first song was Hey Jude.
Now I’m learning Stand By Me. But I
cannot sing.”
Russell Kwiat, 30, hit
the road after college.
But it wasn’t to backpack
across Europe. He became
a road warrior for Kwiat,
his family business.
THE PARTNER
Tp
THE
PARTNER
RUSSE LL KWIAT, 30
Founding member of Gen-Next
Jewelers, studied history, started in
jewelry as a traveling salesman
FRED MARCUS PHOTOGRAPHY
84 84
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APRIL
20102010
8
“I got out on the road and started
calling on accounts and began really understanding the retail side of
things,” Kwiat recalls. “It brought a
whole new perspective. A lot of it was
being managed from the office and
decisions were being made by people
who had only a broad understanding
of retail. “
Kwiat had a much better understanding of the business when he
returned to settle down in New York.
He was well equipped to put together a stronger distribution network as
a result.
Looking back even now, he thinks,
it would be tough to live that lifestyle.
“I didn’t have much responsibility
in the office. I’m married now and I
wasn’t at the time.”
These days, as a partner, he primarily handles sales and wholesale
distribution.
Joining the family business was
always a possibility, but he pursued
a liberal-arts education, studying history at the University of Pennsylvania,
while considering law school.
“I didn’t really receive too much
pressure from the family. One of
the summers, my senior year in high
school, I worked here full-time and
started playing with the diamonds,
holding them, and I fell in love with
diamonds. When I actually began to
touch and feel the product, that’s
when I said to myself, ‘This is what I
want to do.’”
Kwiat is one of five family members in the fourth generation of the
business and a founding member of
Gen-Next Jewelers. He’s also active in
Court Appointed Special Advocates,
a charity sponsored by Jewelers
for Children, which shepherds kids
through the foster system and helps
them find permanent homes.
Ti
THE INNOVATOR
MEGAN THORNE, 29, of
Fort Worth, TX, a former
lingerie designer, surprised
herself when she took a
metalworking class and
felt comfortable using the
tools. “I will be the first
person to sew a finger to
the sewing machine, but
I can handle a torch,” she
says.
Thorne studied fashion design in
college and then worked for a company in Florida owned by two women
who were about 30 years old. It made
her realize where she wanted to be
“I started my bridal line specifically because
my friends are starting to get married.”
THE
INNOVATOR
9
M EGAN T H O R N E, 2 9
at their age. Deciding fashion was
overcrowded with young, creative
people, she began looking toward
jewelry, her true love. “I thought I
should do something that I thought
wasn’t as competitive,” she says,
with a laugh. “It was a good career
move, but maybe a naïve one, thinking it wouldn’t be saturated with
great designers.”
Thorne believes designers coming to jewelry from other careers are
in a good position to be innovative.
“I’m not tied to any historical way of
doing things,” she says.
Inspiration comes from fabrics. “I
have an obscene amount of fabric
in my little sewing room. I collect
books on antique laces. I also look to
architecture, metalwork and those
kinds of things.”
Thorne says her age allows her
to have intimate insight into the
Former lingerie designer, jewelry
inspiration comes from fabrics
NATHALIE SCHWARZ
needs of a specific jewelry market.
“I started my bridal line specifically
because my friends are starting
to get married. The need wasn’t
abstract or driven by a business
plan or model. It was actual. Girls
my age are getting engaged. I feel
especially plugged into the desires
of that demographic because I am
essentially designing for myself and
my friends.”
Thorne enjoys developing an open
dialogue with the retailers who carry
her designs. “I’m not so interested in
having a million accounts,” she says.
“I hand make all the pieces and I
plan to keep everything produced
right here in Texas.”
THE DIAMOND DEALER
THE STAKES WERE
HIGH FOR MARIO
MACIAS, 30, a
diamond dealer for
Atlantic Diamond Co.
He recently put all of his
expertise to the ultimate test
when he designed an engagement ring for his bride, Jenelle
Klemz.
“The ring shopping was nervewracking because I’ve heard so
many stories about what my
clients go through; here I was
knowing all I did about diamonds
and I didn’t want to be that
picky guy dissecting things, but
I couldn’t have a run-of-the-mill
ring, either, because I’m in the
industry,” he recalls.
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APRIL 2010
He chose a fancy yellow diamond and designed a detailed,
engraved platinum setting with
a floral motif to show it off.
“I told a friend of mine that
this is my Picasso, this is my
Eiffel Tower.”
Macias developed an interest
in diamonds when he sold jewelry for a friend who had invested
in a pawnshop. “I had a tremen-
Dd
THE
DIAMOND
DEALER
MARIO MACIAS, 3 0
Founded the Young Jewelers
Association, trains in jujitsu
RUSS HADZIABDIC
10
dous thirst to learn more about
diamonds,” he says. After a year,
he attended the GIA and graduated with a GG.
In 2005, Macias went to
work for Atlantic, and in 2006,
he founded the Young Jewelers
Association. “We try to network
and be social in a non-selling
environment, so people’s guards
are down. You never know
where your next job might come
from or when you might need a
source for a rare pink diamond.”
In his spare time, Macias is
training in Brazilian jujitsu, to get
in shape for his April 17 wedding
in Mexico.
And the ring?
“Jenelle loves it. She gets
compliments all the time.”
APRIL 2010
87
SHEA LEECH, 30, owner
of J Shea Jewelers in
Abilene, TX, first broke into
business as a teenager
selling gel-filled insoles
in the mall. He called his
kiosk Shea’s Hydro Feet.
THE ENTREPRENEUR
En
THE
ENTREPRENEUR
11
SHEA LE ECH, 3 0
Former owner of Shea’s Hydro Feet,
started jewelry store at age 19, grew
20% in 2009, is on track to retire at 48
PAULA GILMORE PHOTOGRAPHY
That effort funded the next,
in which the youth pastor and
community-college student sold
religious jewelry. When mall rent shot
up as the holidays approached, he
did his own market research for a
permanent location, staking out local
strip centers and counting cars.
With a $730 deposit, at age 19, he
claimed his retail space, then bought
27 cases from a mall store that was
remodeling. No bank would give him
a loan, but he had cash enough to
fill 10 cases and opened the store
within days of closing the kiosk,
after his mom and stepdad helped
him repaint. Three hundred people
attended the grand opening.
In 2004, he repainted, added lights
and crown molding, got married and
began thinking about CAD/CAM. “My
age had always been a deterrent until
then. I thought I was young enough to
learn this. It turned out, though, that
my wife is the whiz at CAD/CAM. I’m
a salesman more than anything.” In
2005, he bought Gemvision’s Matrix
and created a local niche for himself.
Leech has competitors in Abilene
but he sets himself apart with CAD/
CAM, promotes his own brand and
advertises honesty with a lifetime
service agreement and handwritten
thank-you cards.
In 2009, he experienced 20 percent
growth. He is on track to retire at 48.
“If you’re willing to work, mountains
can move. I credit my faith, but you
can’t just sit back and say, ‘God help
me.’”
“I thought I was young enough to learn CAD/
CAM. It turned out, though, my wife is the whiz.”
88
APRIL 2010
THE BLOGGER
FOR MICHAEL
SCHECHTER, 30, of
Honora in New York City,
the jewelry industry is one
big family. And although
he was born into it, he
knew by age 12, it was
where he belonged.
“I watched my grandfather and my
father, and I wanted to be a part of
that,” he says. “I do love how tightknit our industry is. The same people
my father came up with acted as
mentors to me. It’s an industry of
family businesses. We, as an industry,
are a giant family business, in some
respects.”
Officially, he joined the business at
19 after graduating from the GIA.
“I started in operations, learning
the soup to nuts of how product
moves,” he says.
Now, as director of digital marketing, he oversees the company’s Web
presence, from honora.com to e-mail
marketing and social networking. He
has nearly 4,000 followers on Twitter
and is active on Facebook.
“Who we are as a company is
expressed by what we do on the
Web,” he says. “It’s a real pleasure to
oversee that and connect with the
people who are passionate about our
pearls,” he says.
He creates goodwill by thanking
everyone who mentions the company on Facebook or Twitter.
Honora got its feet wet in the world
of online promotion by starting a blog
that included information about
freshwater pearls, Honora’s designer
and how he chooses color combinations, and even how to find the perfect earring look — essentially, anything customers might be interested
in (not “buy this now!” content). “It
doesn’t have to be about your brand
always,” he says. “It’s about building
community and having fun.”
To reach young consumers,
Schechter says, it’s important to “fish
where they fish.”
In other words, become more
familiar with the technologies and
how they buy. Make sure the demographic is represented in your staff,
too. And above all, talk to them.
“Guessing what they want rather
than talking to them about what
they want doesn’t work. We want
to evolve our products to meet their
needs.”
Bl
THE
BLOGGER
12
M I CH AE L SC HEC HT ER , 3 0
Board member of Gen-Next Jewelers,
joined Honora at 19, has 4,000 Twitter followers
DAMIEN SANDONE