Karlise Fine Jewelers

Feb 7

In their own words

“Family’s more important to me than anything. I started my trade working for the jewelry store that was here for thirty years and had the opportunity about three years ago to open my store. We called it Karlise after my two girls, Kara and Elise. I’m not just a salesperson—I’m the bench jeweler, gemologist, and appraiser. My plate is full.”

-Michael Archambault

Jason’s Interview with Michael

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Michael from Karlise Fine Jewelers in Burlington, Vermont. How did you get into the industry?

Michael

I grew up on a dairy farm back in the 1980s. My dad had a little dairy farm up in Franklin County, about forty-five minutes away from Burlington. I had an uncle in the business, had a little jewelry store. We fiddled around a little bit and I got an idea of what I wanted to do. I went to Paris Junior College to become a jeweler. I went there two years and learned my trade. And then got sick of the hot weather, so I was wanting to come home.

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Family's more important to me than anything. I have a large family, we're French Canadian and always wanted to come back and enjoy Burlington. I had the opportunity to start my trade and I worked for the jewelry store that was here for thirty years with the Woods and had the opportunity three years ago to open my own store. We call it Karlise after my two girls.

Jason
Tell us about your family.

Michael
We're a tight group. I’m the oldest of five. When clients come in the store, I want to make sure they have the best experience and treat them as family. That's the most important part about it.

Jason
Coming into your store, what's the feeling that customers get?

Michael
The feeling’s very warm. We have a very open concept store, about 2,300 square feet. It’s very simplistic. We have very simplistic lighting, very warm colors. We have a really nice bar where we can sit down with a customer, talk about their needs, and what they would like in their piece of jewelry. We also have a diamond lab that I can go in and actually be a little bit more private with them if they want to.

A lot of people don't want to be in the public because our corner store is very open. Some people get a little intimidated when they come in and they just want to be a little bit more private. This gives us an opportunity to get the loose diamonds, gemstones, and show them exactly how we present it to them. It’s a little more comfortable that way.

Jason
How would you think people describe your store?

Michael
I think they're going to describe it as very friendly, very knowledgeable. I'm also a gemologist. I've got the know-how and make them feel confident in what they're buying from us because I'm not a salesperson just on the sales floor. I'm actually the bench jeweler, the gemologist, the appraiser. I just want to make sure when they come in the store, they're getting product and knowledge.

Jason
Why do you think people should trust you out of the jewelers in the area?

Michael
I give them the truthful answers. I'm not trying to sell them something. It’s very low pressure. I'd much rather have them come in the store to make sure their decision is correct. When we create a piece of jewelry, we're making something out of love for each other. That's what you experience in our store.

Jason
You're a very technologically forward jeweler. Where did you get that from?

Michael
I'm always looking for different avenues to grow our business. I've got a very young daughter, Kara. She's been with me for three years now, when we opened the store. She has that very intuitive look. She understands the internet, she understands Facebook. Technology is good because It helps us do our job a lot better.

Jason
What sets you apart as a jewelry store?

Michael
I found my dream job. A lot of people believe in me and I gotta believe in myself. Our store is exponentially growing, people trust the way I do my business because I'm ethical. I learned from great parents and great people in the community.

Jason
Do you have mentors?

Michael
I had very good mentors through the GIA. It was nice to have teachers. I had one individual instructor, Tammy was her name. She said, “Mike, you can do this.” I had troubles because I'm very dyslexic. I overcame those. It took me a lot longer to figure that out as an older adult. It's nice to be able to create and actually thrive in something that I can enjoy.

Jason
What are some cool trends that you're seeing now?

Michael
I’m seeing a lot of smaller items. I'm seeing more colored gemstones becoming part of the center, part of the engagement ring. A lot of natural gemstones. I've been seeing trends in lab-grown diamonds in this area, too.

Jason
Where do you source your materials and custom jewelry work?

Michael
We try to recycle everything we buy coming in the store. We have a refiner in New York that we use, everything is green gold. I've been working with a couple diamond industries that are ethically sourced, too. We handpick our pieces that way because we do a lot of loose gems. I try to work with small vendors and clients that will appreciate color and special diamonds

We've been thinking about getting into something bigger with CAD programming. Right now, we're outsourcing our CAD designs, but we hand sketch everything here for the client and have that outsourced. We have a full jewelry shop here at the store because most of the repairs are done here on the premises.

Jason
What are some key non-profits, charities, and organizations that you want us to be aware of?

Michael
We’re actually just starting a small campaign. It’s called Camp Ta-Kum-Ta. It’s a very local small charity here in the Burlington area for kids that have cancer. Basically, it's for kids that can be a kid for one week. These are debilitating diseases that they have. Camp Ta-Kum-Ta gives these kids a reason to go have fun and forget about their illnesses for a week. That’s near and dear to me because I lost a dear aunt. When she was eleven, she had brain cancer. And also Make-a-Wish. Those are the two important ones that we like. Also, we do a couple other charities with the local police and fire departments here in the city.

Jason
What are some brands that you feel really strongly about?

Michael
We like Fana. We use Fana a lot in our bridal lines. There's a lot of smaller companies that we have. We have one local jewelry company that we work with, Freeman’s. She’s down in the Randolph area. We try to keep tight with the community. I don't have any other bigger national brands. We're trying to brand Karlise as Karlise.

Jason
Where do you see the business going five, ten years now? What's your vision?

Michael
My vision is to hopefully have this same location on beautiful Church Street. It's a gorgeous location. I hope to see this business thrive in the next ten-fifteen years, maybe double what I'm doing today, but still keep that small family atmosphere to it.

Jason
What's something that you want to share with Meet the Jewelers?

Michael
This is something I've heard from a good friend of mine who has since passed away: “What would you like? You'll see the beginning and you see the end. But what makes a difference is that dash in between.” I'm living my dream. I'm living my hopes. Everything in this life is to create a better life for people that come into our store. That's my core value, my core ethic.