Cheryl Fornash Jewelers
In their own words
“People find me online, or previous customers refer other customers. My clients come to me by appointment. They want to sit down with me in a quiet environment, not standing over a showroom counter buying a diamond. They see the stone loose, and I educate them on it, then I make the setting. It’s a process, and I’m still doing it. That’s really what I’m known for.”
-Cheryl Fornash
Jason’s Interview with Cheryl
Jason
We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Cheryl Fornash from Cheryl Fornash Jewelers out in Richmond, Virginia. How’d you get into the jewelry industry?
Cheryl
I was a national marketing rep to the Department of Defense for the IBM corporation for twenty years. I wanted to move back to the Richmond area and start my own business. My sister had started a small jewelry store here, so I initially went in with her. We went from a small boutique to a large jewelry store over a twelve-year period.
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Cheryl
Then, unfortunately, Starbucks liked our space and we ended up leaving. At that time, I decided I didn't want a retail store anymore. I saw the change in the way people were buying and the market. I decided to go out on my own and basically work by appointment. I created a website and had a small office and worked by appointment. Then I moved to a larger suite in a bank building. Been there about ten years and it's all by appointment.
I do a lot of charity events. The Children's Hospital Ball, Massey Cancer, Women and Wellness. I'm involved in a lot of that. Just this last year, I started an alliance with a furrier, Alan Furs here in Richmond, and decided to open a showroom in their furrier. This allowed me to be able to, in addition to sell engagement rings, also buy diamonds. I come up probably on the first page as a buyer for diamonds in Richmond. I get a lot of calls for that. Now with the engagement ring list of clients, they're coming back for baby gifts and other things.
I needed to be able to sell more finished jewelry, so I opened a showroom in her furrier and I have engagement ring clients there, and also meet them at my bank building downtown. I like having the showroom. I have about one-hundred finished settings by a designer in LA, so it helps my engagement ring sales to have a lot of settings. It also is finished jewelry and we're able to have an event like Christmas shows, “Meet the Designer” kind of shows. I'm able to do that, that I couldn't do by appointment in a small boutique. Alan Furs has a lot of walk-in traffic and that would increase sales. My clients come to me by appointment. They want to sit down with me, get educated, and be in a quiet environment. They see it loose, I educate them on it, I make the setting. It's all a process and I'm still doing that. That's really what I'm known for.
Jason
In terms of the experience, how do you like to make them feel?
Cheryl
I think it's really important to build rapport. I learned that with my long career at IBM. I find that it's very important to be able to have good phone skills and build some rapport, to tell them what I'm about, how I'm different. I work within their budget, whatever they want. I'm gonna guide them to make an investment in a diamond, not just buy something. It’s no pressure. You don't have to put down a deposit, you don't have to buy a diamond. If I don't have the right thing for them, or they change their mind on what their criteria might be, they look at more diamonds until we get it right. They trust me.
Jason
Why do you think they trust you?
Cheryl
My son says this is funny. My son just got engaged and I sold to a lot of his friends. He’s thirty-two. He says that all of his friends love to come to me because they trust me. They say it’s like buying a diamond from their mother. I think having experience, a long career in a major corporation, and having a history builds credibility.
Jason
Any family members that were in this industry that got you hooked to it?
Cheryl
My sister was in the business. Like I said, we were partners for twelve years and my grandfather was actually in the jewelry business.
Jason
Tell us some really fun engagement ring experiences.
Cheryl
I had one gentleman that asked me to do his engagement ring, which I did. And then he asked me if I would deliver it to the airport on the plane. He was going to propose on the plane, and on the plane, there would be the wedding party. The bride thought they were going on a trip with some of their friends. I went to the airport, I was standing there, and she got on the plane and goes, “Cheryl, oh gosh, how are you? What are you doing?” Kind of like what are you doing here? And then I presented the ring to him, and he presented it to her. Then she realized that this was the wedding party and they were all going off to get married. She was very excited. It was beautiful.
Jason
Let's talk a little bit about how you're so involved with the community.
Cheryl
About ten years ago, I started Jewels for Cure. This was for Massey Cancer, Women and Wellness. My sister had breast cancer, so I got involved in that. I went to the jewelers in town and pulled together twelve major jewelers and we all donated a piece of jewelry worth $1,500. At this luncheon, women would buy raffle tickets to raffle the jewelry. All the money went to breast cancer research. I did that for about three or four years. I was going to retire it about eight years ago, and then I thought about the Children's Hospital Ball. I met with the foundation for the Children's Hospital Ball, seven-hundred people attended. It’s sponsored by Davenport stock brokerage company. About forty women that are part of a foundation for the Children's Hospital decorate the entire club. We've raised probably $250,000 for the Children's Hospital Ball. It's a really good feeling to be able to do something, also to do something as a group that typically are competitors. For us to do anything as a group is odd, but we come together for that night as a group.
Jason
What do you think differentiates you from the others in the area?
Cheryl
I think it's mainly because I am one-on-one. They're not going to deal with anyone but me. From the beginning to the end of the process. I'm not just selling a diamond, I'm doing the setting, I have a custom designer. People can get exactly what they want. They don't have to buy something out of a case because the jeweler is selling it. It's very specialized. I had a client call me the other day and wanted to know if he could get an appointment with me if his budget was only $10,000. I see people that are buying something for $1,000. I have clients all over the spectrum. I think it's the one-on-one and the fact that I am involved in a lot of things in this town. My family's been here since 1911. Buying a diamond should be a very positive experience. It should be a happy time. We all have to make a living, but we should keep the prices competitive and affordable and make the client’s wishes come before ours.
