070-071_cool store opening

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AUGUST 2006
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UNDERWOOD’S
FINE JEWELERS
611 West Dickson Street,
Fayetteville, AR 72701
O W N E R S : Bill and Craig Underwood
P H O N E : (479) 521-2000
U R L : www.underwoods.com
Y E A R F O U N D E D : 1957
O P E N E D F E A T U R E D L O C A T I O N : 1966
ADDRESS:
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CAPTIONS:
1 The store’s bold
square lines provide a
clue to its architect,
the legendary E. Fay
Jones.
5
2 Earring display.
3 The first half of the
showroom features
bridal ware.
3
4 Underwood’s
takes up most of the
building's three floors.
5 Embedded cases
line the walls.
6 Necklace on show.
7 Bill Underwood has
a soft spot for soothing fountains.
8 A display invites
customers to inspect
the store’s diamond
lasering.
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9 Hallway-like
showroom.
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MORE DETAILS
A R C H I T E C T / D E S I G N E R : E. Fay Jones
T O T A L S T O R E A R E A : 7,000 sq ft
E M P L O Y E E S : 18
2 0 0 5 R E V E N U E S : N/A
L A N D C O S T : $13,500 (circa 1966)
B U I L D I N G C O S T : $137,500 (circa 1966)
I N T E R I O R B U I L D - O U T C O S T : $26,000 (circa 1966)
D E S I G N / A R C H I T E C T U R A L F I R M S C O S T : N/A
C U R R E N T E S T I M A T E D P R O P E R T Y V A L U E : Appraised at
Historic bronze
crosses display.
Warm colors and
low ceilings provide a
feeling of intimacy.
The entry showroom.
Floral ring tribute.
$1.45 million
S L O G A N : “Underwood’s... It’s Where You Buy The Best”
RAZOR’S EDGE: Underwood’s commissioned Baccarat and Faberge to create Arkansas Razorback-themed jewelry items, for
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sale only at Underwood’s. OLD SCHOOL: Three bronze crosses, circa 1,000 A.D., call Underwood’s showcases home.
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FiveQuestionsWith
WHAT THE
JUDGES SAID:
CRAIG UNDERWOOD
LES HISCOE
SHAWMUT DESIGN
PRESIDENT, UNDERWOOD’S FINE JEWELRY
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® The exterior feels very
rich and the store has a
nice vertical layering.
DOES UNDERWOOD’S ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THE
FIRST, BIGGEST, AND BEST AT EVERYTHING? It’s
very important to be first in every category, but not
necessarily the biggest. Just because a diamond is big
doesn’t make it desirable or pretty... the same is true in
business. Quality, attention to detail, and profitability should take precedence.
2
HOW HAS UNDERWOOD’S THRIVED DOWNTOWN WHEN SO MANY
JEWELERS ELSEWHERE HAVE LEFT FOR OUTLYING RETAIL CENTERS?
Being close to a college campus (the University of Arkansas) means this area stays
rejuvenated. The second reason is the industry itself. People won’t make a long drive
for a $100 shirt, but for an important purchase, they’ll make a road trip in search of the
best. The more important the purchase, the larger the geographic range.
3
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO BE SO INVOLVED IN AN INDUSTRY
ORGANIZATION LIKE AGS? Working in AGS gives you great contacts and a
chance to talk to the best, most talented people in the field. It’s also a way to give back
to the industry. But it doesn’t work if you only take and never give.
JUMP FOR JOY. Underwood’s elegant ads make it
clear to shoppers that ‘it’s where you buy the best’.
4 describe the excitement and satisfaction. It’s encouraging to be recognized by
SO YOU’RE FEELING PRETTY COOL NOW, RIGHT? I’m floored! Words can’t
your peers for your hard work, and it’s very special to have this award.
5
COOL
THINGS
ABOUT
UNDERWOOD’S
FINE JEWELERS
THE ARCHITECT
True
Genius
Every cool store featured in this feature
has a great designer,
but one of the greatest
of his generation?
That’s an honor only
Underwood’s can
boast. The store was
designed by E. Fay
Jones, who was once
named by the
American Institute of
Architects (AIA) as one
of the country’s “10
most influential living
architects.” Jones, who
died August 30, 2004,
was a friend and
apprentice of architectural legend Frank
Lloyd Wright. Unlike
Wright, Jones had
no real desire
for fame,
preferring to work on
small projects. Soaring
interior spaces, open
expression of structural
elements, careful detailing and the use of
native materials characterize his style. In 1991,
the AIA ranked Jones’
Thorncrown Chapel in
Eureka Springs, AR, as
one of the five best
buildings by an
American architect in
the 20th century. Jones’
influence can be seen in
his trademark entrance
“lantern” at
Underwood’s, as well as
in the huge cantilevered
roof. “The exterior is
unique, inviting, and
gives us lots of flexibility in displaying our
jewelry,” says Craig
Underwood.
“It’s not your typical
box store.”
5
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO OTHER STORE OWNERS WHO WANT TO BE AS
COOL AS YOU? Attention to detail is #1. Constantly innovate. We’re never afraid
to try new technology. Although we’re a mature business, we’re always looking for the
most cutting-edge gemological skills, education, hardware, inventory control, et cetera.
INDUSTRY LEADERS
Making
the Grade
Thirty years ago, as a
member of the AGS
Diamond Standards
Committee, Bill
Underwood witnessed
a lawsuit between rival
diamond factions. The
issue: could one of the
companies continue to
claim their new diamond cut was the most
brilliant in the world?
Experts were brought
in and tests conducted,
but ultimately, the
claim could not be conclusively proved or disproved. Underwood
thought, “Wouldn’t it
be nice if we had a simple way to measure
light return?” Today,
Underwood is only
months away from
receiving his patent
request results on his
HEARSAY
Three things you might
catch staff saying at
Underwood’s, according
to Craig Underwood:
1 “It’s Mean Jean the
Selling Machine!” (Craig:
“It’s our affectionate
name for our longesttenured employee, Jean
Phillips, who has 26
years on staff.”)
2 “Big ‘coons walk
late.” (“An old saying
about raccoons, but the
staff uses it to describe
Bill because he tends to
make a big sale or two
every year right before
Christmas to put us over
our goal.”)
3 “High fives all
around!” (“Celebrate!”)
own invention ... the
Beauty Grade.
Developed with assistance from the
University of Arkansas
Department of Optical
Physics, it will be the
first device that will
quantifiably measure
light return for any size
or shape of diamond.
The secret? A tiny laser
beam that passes into
each portion of the diamond as it spins 360
degrees. A gauge measures the number of
light returns, and anything that blocks the
light shows up as a
diminished reading.
The diamond is then
graded from 1.00 to
100.00. “Currently, the
AGS gives out 11 cut
grades,” says
Underwood. “This
device provides 10,000
possible grades.”
DO-IT-YOURSELF
Agency
Man
Most ad agencies make
their money on a commission basis — what-
MUSEUM-WORTHY In 1978, Bill Underwood was one of 33 jewelers picked by the Smithsonian to create
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® I definitely think the
gold-leafed vitrine wall is
the most striking element.
® The layout is a bit too
narrow. It seems it would
be hard to drive customers
to the rear of the store.
RUTH BATSON
AMERICAN GEM SOCIETY
® At Underwood’s the
people are the coolest. You
have an award-winning
design team, you have
knowledgeable credentialed
staff for sales and
appraisals, and you have the
Underwoods themselves.
® It is unusual for a retail
store to compete and win
international jewelry design
awards. Now that is cool!
BRUCE
BRIGHAM
RETAIL CLARITY
œ This store has a very
strong architectural exterior. It is very welcoming.
The fixturing is absolutely
beautiful — without taking
away from the jewelry. The
overall effect of this design
is breathtaking and memorable.
œ I normally do not display
so much merchandise
behind sales counters. It is
a bit overpowering in terms
of merchandise quantity
here. That is the one thing I
might change here — a bit
less merchandise behind
the counters.
being
redundant. I would spend
some time in here looking
for just the right gift for
myself or someone else.
KATE PETERSON
PERFORMANCE CONCEPTS
œ I can see how the
THE COMEBACK
Underwood family has captured the interest and the
fondness of the local community. The public tends to
respect a store that is a
“part of them” — and it
looks like the Underwoods
have conveyed that message.
Disaster
Averted
®There are a number of
in-wall museum cases that
are not only attractive but
hold items of interest that
will not be found anywhere
else. Even if you do not
make a purchase you will
not forget the special
designs and items you find
at this store.
œ I love the simplicity of
RICK SEGEL
GARY AND
KATHY BIGHAM
AUTHOR/CONSULTANT
BIGHAM JEWELERS
œ The exterior design is
œ You’ve got to love the
the store’s coolest feature
because it is so high,
unusual, and different.
LORI WEGMAN
rags-to-riches story of this
award-winning store!
WEGMAN DESIGN GROUP
œ The interior is not in
CELESTE SOTOLA
perfect alignment with the
slogan “It’s where you buy
the best”.
INTERIOR DESIGNER
ELLEN FRUCHTMAN
FRUCHTMAN MARKETING
® I would never believe
this store could be in
Fayetteville, Arkansas!
® The structure (exterior)
is one of the coolest I’ve
ever seen. And I love the
curved interior wall showcasing product.
® So many stores make it
difficult for customers to
browse or sit down and
relax. This store welcomes
both!
the color scheme … in
which there is still a great
number of textures and a
variety of tones and values.
œ The outside is as beautiful as the inside.
œ Its low center-of-gravity
benches present jewelry for
the perfect view. A generous bench size encourages
sharing and kindness and
the curved wall with vitrines adds a nice visual
staccato to the space.
œ The interior looks like
I'm on a train going to a
wonderful adventure. The
displays behind the counters are intimate and yet
tell a story along the walls.
This is a great way to utilize
interior surfaces without
ever their client
spends, they earn
up to 15%. Craig
Underwood
decided he’d
rather save the
15% for the store.
So, he created his
own in-house
agency, which buys
media, writes ad
copy, shoots video
of jewelry and even
produces television
commercials. “I’d put
our jewelry footage
against anything else
out there,” states
Underwood.
œ I'm not sure I like the
shift from the ultra-contemporary outside to the combination of slightly contemporary and very traditional
inside.
œ I might try to minimize
the “alley” effect of having
showcases straight down
both sides of a narrow
space.
œ It’s a compact store so
well detailed all the pieces
seem to fit together as one.
In 1960, after three
years in business, Bill
Underwood had finally
accumulated about
$15,000 in inventory.
He knew it was time to
beef up security, so he
began installing an
alarm system.
Everything was in place
but the master control
box. He came into the
store on a Saturday
night to take displays
out of the windows,
and found the store
completely empty.
Underwood’s had been
burgled. “I had insurance, but it was a
crushing blow,” says
Underwood. “I don’t
know how I would
have made it.” Luckily,
the burglar was caught
three days later, along
with all the stolen
merchandise. The
media was all over the
story, as it was the
biggest burglary ever
in Fayetteville. “It
turned out to be great
publicity for us,” says
Underwood. “We were
now on the map.”
THE SERVICE
Certified
Expertise
Underwood’s has its
own accredited gem
lab — it was the first in
the state — a nd is one
of only 12 stores in the
country with four certified gemologist
appraisers under one
roof. Says Craig
Underwood: “We have
a duty to be the best
we can, to answer any
question.” The lab is
also part of the store’s
branding initiative. “To
be stamped as an
Underwood piece, it
has to be at a high,
high level of quality.
Nineteen out of 20 diamonds we see, we
reject,” he says. —
TRACE SHELTON
œ Execution of the Frank
Lloyd Wright theme is
accomplished with elegance and beauty.
œ Shows a real command
of detail and appreciation
for the expression of natural materials as a thoughtful
backdrop to the jewelry.
œThe product is not overshadowed by the displays
which frame them as a work
of art in some areas. The
store and merchandising
work well —seamlessly.
œ Warm color palate and
low ceilings creating a very
intimate experience.
1-2-3 ACTION. Craig Underwood at the video-editing
suite of his store’s in-house advertising agency.
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an item for a special collection. I’VE GOT I.D. Every diamond over 1/4-carat is laser-inscribed with the Underwood’s name and a serial number.
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America’sCoolestStores5
Hipsville, AR.
SPECIAL FEATURE: FIGURING HE KNEW COOL, TRACE SHELTON HEADED
OFF TO THE ARKANSAS HILLS. HE RETURNED A WISER MAN.
FAYETTEVILLE? NO, COULDN’T BE.
Maybe it was all those hillbilly jokes, but I just couldn’t believe I N S T O R E ’ S “America’s Coolest Store” was
going to be found nestled among the backwoods of the
Ozark Mountains.
I now stand corrected. And Arkansas, I owe you one
big apology.
The moment I drove out of the airport, it became clear
that Fayetteville is one of our country’s most beautiful,
and best-kept, secrets. The soaring trees and quaint
farms that welcome the visitor soon give way to a gorgeous vista — the rolling hills that are northwest
Arkansas. Fayetteville is also home to one of the loveliest
college campuses I’ve ever seen, the University of
Arkansas, and some genuinely friendly locals.
So it was with great anticipation that I
That’s Cool!
76 AUGUST 2006
arrived at Underwood’s Fine Jewelers, less than a block
from campus on lively Dickson Street. The store — and its
people — did not disappoint. They proved to me that to
build a cool store, you don’t need a big city... just a dogged
devotion to quality, a terrific attitude, and a ton of passion
for the jewelry business.
FRIDAY, JUNE 30
10 A.M.
One of the most striking jewelry-store exteriors in the
world greets me as I approach Underwood’s. With so many
retailers moving towards curved shapes and circles in their
build-outs, it is refreshing to see such an innovative use of
squares and rectangles, layered and intersecting my line of
vision in such a way as to force me to stand motionless for
a few seconds just to take it all in.
THE TEAM.
Bill
and Craig
Underwood; SECOND
ROW: Laurie Harrison,
Jean Phillips,
Racheal Sullivan,
Julie Garton, Angie
Spencer, Cindy Beil,
and Candy Icenogle;
THIRD ROW: Tom
Weishaar, Kary
Ennis, Jennifer
Johnstone and Laura
Underwood; BACK
ROW: Phoebe
Grothaus and Sarah
Van Asche.
BOTTOM ROW:
INDUSTRY LEADERS: Both Bill and Craig Underwood have served as president of the American Gem
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I enter the store to find a long, hallway-like
showroom, impeccably kept, with just a few
subtle features to draw the eye. A wall of vertical “sawtooth” showcases lines the right side
of the entryway, while on the left, shadowboxes are spread along a wall that runs up toward
a showroom before curving away from view.
An open doorway in that wall allows a peek of
the private showing room, and a line of AGS
diplomas hanging along the back.
At the entryway to Underwood’s H-shaped
showroom stands a fountain made from a solid
block of wood. (Craig Underwood will later
tell me that his father, Bill, has a soft spot for
the soothing nature of fountains, and tries to
include one in each of his developments).
Above, a sparkling Baccarat chandelier hangs
from the ceiling.
While the first half of the showroom
includes the bridal and watch areas, accented
by a large plasma screen TV displaying video
footage of Underwood pieces, the second half
includes designer jewelry and a small kids’
area. As I stand admiring a former AGTA
Spectrum Award-winning design, Craig
Underwood approaches, offering a big smile
and a firm handshake.
10:05 A.M.
At 44 years of age, Craig (who looks
nowhere near 44) is already president of both
Underwood’s and the American Gem Society.
He will later confess to being rather highstrung, but this doesn’t show through in his
easy, affable manner.
He begins by taking me on a tour of the
store. It turns out that when Bill Underwood,
who carries the title company chairman, built
the store in 1966, Underwood’s only occupied
the first half of the space. The other portion
was rented out to another retailer, and the
entire second floor served as office space for
other tenants. Today, Underwood’s takes up
the entire first floor of the building, most of
the second, and will fill more space once an
extension to the building is complete.
Both Craig and Bill credit the store’s success
to its reputation for an unswerving commitment to quality. As a reflection of this commitment, Craig points out the five microscopes
placed around the store. “Everything we sell at
Underwood’s must pass the microscope test,”
he says. “Most customers have never seen jewelry through a microscope, as many jewelry
stores just use a loupe, if anything.” A microscope offers customers the chance to see the
item in stereovision, using both
eyes instead of just one,
giving them a better
RISING UP. An artist’s view of Underwood
Plaza, due for completion this September.
sense of depth and feel. It also offers the benefit of controlled lighting.
“Most jewelry is not made to be scrutinized
under a microscope,” says Craig. “Thin prongs
and poor workmanship are much easier to
detect. Here, we use heavy prongs, durable
and well-mounted. It’s riskier and more difficult for the jeweler, but worth it for the customer.”
After touring the showroom, we move to
the back of the store — and enter a warren of
cluttered, tightly-packed office space. Craig
shows me upstairs, where the jewelers’ shop
features a laser welder, a fully accredited gem
lab, and the nation’s first certified master
bench jeweler, Tom Weishaar. Weishaar
speaks at Jewelers of America events several
times a year, and has written columns for
Professional Jeweler magazine. “Everything
and everyone up here has to be top of the line,”
explains Craig, “since the majority of our sales
are custom work. We do everything from start
to finish in-house, with the exception of platinum casting.”
While upstairs, I get to see the store’s videoediting suite, where Craig produces all the
store’s television ads and annual video catalog.
Additionally, Underwood’s has a room dedicated to shooting jewelry footage for these ads.
It can be a time-consuming process; shooting
one piece of jewelry can take upwards of 30
minutes. “Hundreds and hundreds of hours of
labor have gone into shooting this footage,”
Society (in 1987 and 2006, respectively).
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which uses laser light to measure the light
return of any size or shape of diamond, will
revolutionize the industry. He gets no argument from me. Bill is still unsure whether he
will market the Beauty Grade commercially,
or sell the technology to diamond cutters,
enabling them to better replicate the highest
possible cut grades.
Meanwhile, Craig returns from the back of
the store with photos of another soon-to-berealized project: Underwood Plaza. Breaking
ground next door in September, it will be the
largest building on Dickson street at nine-stories tall. A 15-18 month buildout is expected.
Craig and Bill plan to lease the first floor to
retailers, with some space reserved for restaurants, complete with outdoor eating areas.
“The look will be similar to the Underwood’s
store building, but more urban,” says Craig.
12:31 P.M.
says Craig, pointing to a wall bookcase
stacked with videotapes from top to bottom.
As we turn from the video-editing station,
an older man rises to shake my hand — Bill
Underwood, the company’s founder. Far from
sitting back and reaping the rewards of his
long service, Bill is busily working on a new
custom design at the GemVision CAD terminal. With a Southwestern drawl and quick
smile, Bill tells us he’ll catch up with us later.
With just a few minutes to spare before an
upcoming photo shoot for I N S T O R E , Craig
shows me back downstairs, where
Underwood’s latest venture is taking shape —
a 1,000 square-foot office space addition at
the back of the store. The expansion will
include offices for both Bill and Craig, as well
as a mail-processing area and main secretarial and support office. An elevator will be
installed to connect all three floors (the basement serves as a storage area). “They’re putting the doors on now, and it should be finished by the time your August issue hits mailboxes,” says Craig.
10:37 A.M.
The professional photographer is ready in
the showroom to shoot the entire
Underwood’s staff, so we make our way back
to the front. While setting up for the shot,
Bill, smiling and chatting, walks over to
straighten the apron of a young bench jeweler. The unforced rapport between the store’s
employees and its owners is obvious.
At this moment, an elderly couple from
Fort Smith, a town 50 miles away, walks into
the showroom. Craig and
Bill wring their hands
That’s Cool!
80 AUGUST 2006
TIME TO SHOP. Great attention is paid to
telling “product stories” at Underwood’s.
nervously behind their backs as there’s no
one available to help customers as everyone
is in this shot. “Trace, would you mind striking up a conversation with these folks while
we take this photo?” Craig asks.
Curious to speak with an Underwood’s
customer, I comply. (I figure it’s the least I
can do, since store business has been interrupted on behalf of this I N S T O R E feature.)
It turns out that the couple has never been
inside Underwood’s before. They saw
Underwood’s recent TV ad, which encourages people to come in and buy a diamond
not only on special occasions, but also “just
because.” So, they’re here “just because”... to
buy an Underwood’s diamond.
10:54 A.M.
In the time it takes to learn this, the staff
has finished their photo shoot and the salesperson returns. I take a brief break to down a
soft drink while the photographer moves his
equipment to the private showing room. I
peek around the corner to see Bill in full conversation with the Fort Smith couple, showing them a diamond ring through the nearest
microscope. I feel confident it will pass the
test. Sure enough, Bill later tells me the sale
was closed, and the two lovebirds are coming
back later to pick up the ring once it’s sized.
11:20 A.M.
After the photographer finishes the individual shots, Bill pulls me aside to show me
his “baby” — the new, patent-pending Beauty
Grade machine. He believes the device,
We phone in our orders at Penguin Ed’s
Barbeque (they have phones at each booth in
the restaurant), and I settle down to listen to
Bill’s tale of Underwood’s beginnings, which
are as humble as they come. Bill grew up
working in his dad’s service station back in
“Dust Bowl, Oklahoma”. They were dirt-poor.
“It was real Grapes of Wrath stuff,” he claims.
Seeking to make his way in the world, Bill
set off for Southwestern Oklahoma State
University. He wound up going to the college’s
watchmaking school — one of the best in the
country. The three-year program taught him
not just how to repair watches, but how to
make them. He left with a degree as a certified
master horologist.
Bill then spent four years in the Navy during the Korean War. During that time, he took
gemology classes by correspondence. When
he got out of the service, he realized that
watchmaking was a dying art. He came to
Fayetteville in search of a business degree,
and fell in love with the area.
The regional jewelry store chain that Bill
was working for decided to close its
Fayetteville location, and offered to sell the
store to Bill. The only money he had was
$1,000 borrowed from his parents. “I
approached banks and told them I was a certified master horologist,” he says. “They’d
never heard of such a thing. They probably
thought I wanted to start a whorehouse.”
Regardless, they refused to loan him any
money.
But, he bought the store anyway — on
December 28, the worst possible time to buy a
jewelry store. “I was inept and very naïve,” Bill
admits.
The G.I. Bill kept him alive, as he’d go to
class in the mornings and work the afternoons. The store did jewelry repairs and sold
animals and trophies. “We had no gold, no
watches, no diamonds,” marvels Bill. The
business turned over just $25,000 the first
year, and no profit.
But in three years, Bill had his business
degree. And over the next 46 years, he would
see Underwood’s grow slowly but surely. “I
never compromised on quality, even in the
beginning,” he states.
He became involved in the AGS, something
he’d wanted to do since visiting AGS stores up
and down the Northeastern seaboard during
his time in the Navy. His stature in the industry grew. And the store really took off once
Craig came on board in 1987.
Over the years, the store became known as
a destination for bridal jewelry. Peter Fonda
once purchased a custom wedding band (“I
don’t know if the marriage lasted, but I’m sure
the wedding band did,” says Bill). Raymond
Floyd, the pro golfer, shopped stores in
Florida and New York before settling on
Underwood’s for a custom ring and one of the
largest diamonds in the store’s inventory for
his wife Maria on their 10th anniversary. She
flew into Fayetteville with her daughter on a
private jet to pick it up.
Perhaps the most unusual occurrence happened when a young couple came in to look at
diamond engagement rings. They were seated
in the private showing room, and the woman
became so overwhelmed at the idea of receiving such a ring that she fainted. “She just fell
over,” says Bill, who was working with the
couple at the time. “We laid her down on a
chair and she was okay. I tell people she’s the
only woman who ever swooned over an
Underwood diamond so visibly!”
It’s quite a story, and quite a meal (the barbeque sandwich is fantastic). “Shall we take
Trace up to see The Cliffs?” Bill asks Craig
cryptically.
“Lead on,” I say, ready for more adventures.
1:40 P.M.
The Cliffs, it turns out, are the nicest apartment complex and town homes in northwest
Arkansas. There are 750 apartments in all,
covering 110 acres. The entire development,
located just five minutes from downtown, was
developed by the Underwoods... and there are
still 50 acres left.
“All the streets are named after gemstones,”
says Craig as we pass Tourmaline Way and
Citrine Link. The complex features a 2,500
square-foot workout facility, two pools, tan-
TECH LEADERS: Underwood’s was the first jewelry store in Arkansas to have CAD/CAM software in-house, the first to have a laser welder in-house, and
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ning beds, a masseuse that gives free massages
to tenants — and oh yeah, drop-dead gorgeous
views from its hillside perch.
Bill purchased most of the land from a local
farmer as an investment, with Craig buying 30
adjoining acres later on. The investment has
paid off in spades, as the complex was fully
rented out almost even before it opened.
“Not sure yet what we’re going to do with
the last bit of acreage,” says Bill. The space still
left offers the best views of all, as it sits right at
the top of the hill. “Might turn it into luxury
homes,” he says, “or maybe even more apartments.” Between the Underwood’s store, The
Cliffs, and Underwood Plaza, it seems that
despite their humble origins, the Underwoods
now have the Midas touch.
2:35 P.M.
Over the next few hours, I interview Craig,
Bill, and manager Cindy Beil. One aspect of the
business that intrigues me is the fact that Craig
and Bill are both so involved in every facet of the
company, from the front of the store to the back.
All this in addition to the building development
next door, the apartment /townhouse complex,
and AGS committee work. How do they have
the time — and energy — to be so involved? And
how well do they work together?
“Wearing so many hats is what makes it so
much fun,” replies Craig. “It never gets old.
Dad and I get to build on the foundation that
he laid down. Now we’re hitting two different
generations of customers.”
Clear differences mark son from father, and
not just in height (Craig is noticeably taller).
Bill is laid back, where Craig is more intense.
“Maybe it’s because Dad’s been through the
battles, and knows it’s not worth getting
worked up,” says Craig. “I seize things and
focus on them.”
That said, the two work together smoothly.
“I’ve never heard them argue,” says Beil, who’s
been with the store for 15 years. “They have
lots of respect for each other. They debate, but
always in a friendly manner. It makes for a
pleasant work environment.”
One project the two work on each year is
the annual video catalog. Craig develops the
concept, Bill writes the script, and then Craig
produces it. “We may bounce a script back and
forth eight, 10, or 12 times before we finally
settle on it,” says Craig.
The bottom line, he says, is that they bring
different strengths to the table. “Dad is still
heavily involved in design work, while I handle vendors, advertising, and the sales floor,”
says Craig. “Meanwhile,
Cindy is a walking
HATS OFF. A plaque purchased in honor of
Bill Underwood, the store’s “big raccoon”.
encyclopedia. She knows everything in stock,
and who sold what to whom.”
5:00 P.M.
As I get ready to take my leave, Bill regales
me with stories from the past 50 years in business. In one, a man asked Bill to make his wife
a pin shaped as a turkey vulture. It’s not a bird
most people consider attractive, but the couple had a special place in their hearts for it.
The man said he’d even given the bird a name.
As Bill handed over the piece, he said, “I hope
your wife, Frances, likes it.”
The man responded with chagrin: “Francis
isn’t my wife ... he’s the vulture!”
Another customer asked to have a machinegun bullet from World War II turned into a
necklace centerpiece. Yet another requested his
kidney stone be turned into jewelry for his wife.
In the end, says Bill, the thing he hears most
often from customers is, “I came here because
I wanted to deal with someone I could trust.”
“People don’t generally know as much about
jewelry as other things they buy,” says Bill, “and
they don’t want to overpay or be embarrassed.
We make sure that doesn’t happen.”
He adds: “We never say ‘trust us’ in our ads,
because it’s not something you ask for. It’s
something that’s given freely after you’ve
proven you can be depended on.”
After everything I’ve seen and heard on this
day, it makes perfect sense. Underwood’s in
Fayetteville? It’s no longer a mystery to me. I
now understand it’s a place where residents
know they’ll find the friendliest service, the
best-quality merchandise, and people who will
stand behind their jewelry and tell God’s honest truth no matter what.
Oh, and they just happen to work in a store
designed for the ages.
Now that’s cool.
the first to digitally image all inventory.
82 AUGUST 2006
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