Everett Designers of Fine Jewelry

Apr 1

In their own words

“We’re a laid-back jewelry store. You come in, and you’ll see guitars on the wall. And they don’t just sit on the wall. I was looking for something to decorate the store with that inspired me. And some people say that my designs have a musical look to them. After we close, two evenings a month, we put guitars, drums, amps, all this stuff out in our courtyard, and we’ll jam. People bring their guitars or keyboards, or I just play for hours.”

-Rick Everett

Jason’s Interview with Rick

Jason

Today, I'd love to introduce Rick Everett from Everett Designers of Fine Jewelry in Clarksville. Tell us how you ended up in this beautiful industry.

Rick

It's not the typical path to becoming a jewelry designer by any means. When I was in my twenties, I was more involved with music, playing some clubs, and working at Sam Goodies to pay the rent. I had a friend who worked at the custom jewelry store and they were looking for somebody to train. I figured I'd give it a shot. The more I was doing it, the more I enjoyed working with my hands.

You create an emotion, a thought process, with metals and gemstones.

+ Keep reading

Jason
Tell us about the experience in the store.

Rick
We're a very laid-back jewelry store. You come in here and you'll see guitars on the wall. They kind of inspire me.

Jason
Tell me about the guitars. I gotta hear this, tell me your favorite guitar you have.

Rick
My favorite is my PRS McCarty model with a rosewood neck. It sounds so sweet. I've got a gold acoustic, a Gibson dove acoustic. I've got these back-home guitars that are the coolest looking guitars. I was looking for something to decorate the store with that kind of inspired me and they do. Some people say that my designs actually have a musical look to them. We also do jam sessions a couple times a month.

This new location we built out a few years ago is right across the street from our old one. The people that built it were people I've known for a long time, a couple of old hippies, and they wanted to build a real social kind of a gathering place. And that's what we do, two evenings a month. After we close, we put guitars, drums, amps, all this stuff out in our courtyard and we'll play for hours.

Jason
Do you do any wedding events?

Rick
We have a store party once a year where we have it catered. I did bring in a David Brackna award-winning gem cutter for many years. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. We miss having him.

Jason
I want to hear about your community give back—what are some of the key ones you want us to know?

Rick
We're in Howard County, Maryland. They do this thing at the local community college, a black-tie thing. Artists provide things that they auction off. The money goes to help teach aspiring tradespeople and artists. I'm trying to figure out which pieces I'm going to donate. We do things for the art of our county. We're always there to support the community. We've also taken in an intern, a young woman going to college for jewelry design. I’m very fortunate to have this one jeweler. He worked for Cartier in Madrid for many years. We put her next to him on a bench right next to his. He gave her a lot of pointers and she learned a lot.

Jason
Tell me about the uniqueness of the location.

Rick
They won some kind of award for being eco-friendly. They’ve got solar panels all over the roofs, even a solar panel sculpture, and they collect the rainwater to water their grounds. There's one building that has two stories and there's a greenhouse attached to it. They have this young local farmer who comes over and manages this greenhouse. And the restaurant here uses herbs and vegetables grown right in the greenhouse. They have special spots for people with fuel-efficient cars and charging stations with free charging for electric cars.

Jason
If there was a celebrity that you could dress with beautiful jewelry, who would it be?

Rick
I would have to say Susan Sarandon. Her mom was a customer of mine back in New Jersey when Susan was up for an Academy Award for Atlantic City. I got an address for Susan a few years ago. On a whim, I wrote her a letter explaining how her mother came in. Susan sent me this really sweet note back.

Jason
There are so many great jewelers out there. Why you?

Rick
It's personal connection. We try to find out what it is that they really want in a piece of jewelry.

Jason
What's the craziest thing that you've ever done for a customer?

Rick
I did have a customer who needed something. He was in the Washington area, a lot of people are government employees and he had been working in London for a couple of years. He needed something custom done last minute. We got it done and shipped it out to him. And we do a lot of that kind. That's not all that unusual, but we really bend over backward to get things to people on time.