Kent Jewelers

Jan 31

BLACKSBURG, VA

In their own words

"I am fascinated by pearls. I absolutely love them. And I think that Coco Chanel is just incredible. If I could give her a strand of pearls, it would just be amazing."

-Marla

Jason’s interview with Marla

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Read the full interview.

Jason: We're doing an interview with Marla Kemsey from Kent Jewelers. And can you tell me, what is it that you love about jewelry?

Marla: Well, the easiest thing, of course, is that it's beautiful. Gems are stunning. It's incredible to me that they can come out of the earth, and we can create these brilliant pieces of jewelry to wear and enjoy forever. But what's most special to me is the sentiment. All of the most important pieces of jewelry that I have personally, I remember where I got them, when I got them, why I got them. And that might include family pieces that were passed down to me.

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I remember when my mother gave me my grandmother's engagement ring to have so that I could give it to my youngest daughter. I remember all of those details. And life is very busy, and there's a lot of details that I don't remember, but around these very special pieces of jewelry there are very special life moments. And I think that's outside of them being very beautiful. The sentiment and the message that someone was sending to you makes it invaluable. And it doesn't mean, of course, that it's the most valuable piece of jewelry that I have, it's just the message and the sentiment and why they gave it to me. There's fun jewelry and fashion jewelry, and that is also very expressive. But my most special pieces are the ones that I will always remember why I have them and why they were given to me. That's really what I think is the message with jewelry and why it's so beautiful.

Jason: What is the jewelry piece that is super sentimental to you?

Marla: Well, I have my grandmother's engagement ring. And my grandparents grew up very modest. My grandfather worked on the railroads in western Pennsylvania. My birthstone happens to be a sapphire and that piece is very special. It's a vintage piece with small sapphires on it that was wonderful that my mom gave it to me and that I can remember my family by my mother's original engagement ring and wedding band set, which was also very modest. I have three girls and my first daughter wants it. She has a beautiful two carat diamond engagement ring with three wedding bands. She just got married a couple of years ago, it's lovely. But she can't wait to get my mother's engagement ring and wedding band. I mean, not that she wants it sooner than later, but she's very excited that she knows one day that'll be hers. Very modest compared to her ring at the moment, but she still can't wait to have it. I've had some pieces of jewelry that were given to me that were custom design pieces made for a very special occasion. Every time I pick up the necklace to put it on or to pick up the ring to put it on, I think about where I was when it was given to me. And I hope that's what jewelry conveys because many times jewelry is very expensive. But there's a reason that we are so fond of them and that it needs to relate. For me, it's not tied into the monetary connection. It's tied into why. I love rings the most because I don't look at myself and see earrings. You can't see earrings on yourself unless you're looking in the mirror. But I can look down on my hand and see rings. And when I look at those rings, I think about why I have them on. I really rarely wear a ring that’s not for a reason. Sometimes they're not the most expensive rings, I have a little gold beaded band that I just got from my mother not too long ago, and I've been wearing that. And I look down every time I put it on, I think of my mom.

Jason: The history is important. And I want to know more about the history of your actual store. Tell us about it.

Marla: In 1990, I opened my first business, a bridal and formal workshop, in Blacksburg, Virginia, which is a small university town in southwestern Virginia. A big university, Virginia Tech, but small town. And after about fifteen years, I was ready to try something in addition. I had a friend who was a graduate gemologist and did wholesaling, mostly with diamonds and engagement rings. And we started talking and decided that opening a jewelry store would be a nice addition to Blacksburg. There were some small jewelers around, but my gemologist friend who has turned into my significant other, which is really nice, had the experience in jewelry and I had the experience in retail because I've been a retailer working for other businesses. My degree in school was in design and merchandising. I had worked in the retail field since I was out of college, so it was a nice combination. I had the retail background, and he had the jewelry background. So, we were able to start the store successfully with the whole package because, as I have found, being an entrepreneur and a small business owner, a lot of times you have great ideas and great talent, but trying to keep all the plates spinning as a small business can be overwhelming. And that is part of the reason small businesses don't make it. The store opened fairly successfully. And we've been here for sixteen years now. We are on Main Street right downtown and have a nice following.

Jason: For someone who's never been inside your store, what does it look like when they walk in?

Marla: Well, it's eclectic. I try to keep it really comfortable. I love art. So, it has art from around the world. Some special pieces that I've collected on the walls. And we're not in high pressure, we don't work on commission. It's a small town and I tell customers and my colleagues that we're all in this together. I mean, I want to help you find the perfect piece of jewelry and you are helping keep a locally owned, Main Street business successful. And I'm thrilled to be able to offer a great service to the town. And it's nice that I've got customers that are loyal and return. We work with a lot of young customers. Living in a university town, I love. It’s a great place to raise children. It's dynamic, it's eclectic. We have a lot of international students. So even though we're in a small town, it’s got a real cosmopolitan feel for what it is. It's a small group of us that work. So, myself and a store manager and someone part-time. We end up with our customers being our friends often. So, our customers that return, we get to know them and we go out in the evening and have a glass of wine. And we like to have special events and ladies’ nights. And women will come and just sit and visit because they know it's a real social event, and then we'll go out to dinner afterward. So, we try to make it a warm and inviting space. My goal is to have them more happy when they walk out the door than when they came in.

Jason: Tell me about the most popular item you sell?

Marla: Well, we do most of our business with engagement rings. We have several cases of colored gemstones and we have some cases of reasonably priced silver designer jewelry because we have customers with all price ranges. Whether you're coming in to spend $3,000 or $20,000 dollars, I'm thrilled to see you. And we want to help you find something just right.

Jason: That's great. Are there any brands or designers you carry that you feel best represent your store?

Marla: We work with Sylvie Designs, which is a bridal engagement ring designer. And she, I think, has a real nice pulse on the direction of where our customers want to be. We have a sterling silver line, Frederic Duclos, out of California, that is reasonably priced but contemporary. And he's an incredible designer. He comes up with a really wonderful collection each season and almost twice a year new designs, which has always been astonishing to me how prolific and creative he can be and once our customers buy a piece from his collection, they often come in to buy another piece. So, his inventory and his line are always changing. And that's great for the customer who wants to have new fashion pieces reasonably priced. We've got another line, Frank Reubel, who does more contemporary silver, and also gold, and then some one-of-a-kind pieces. I have one myself, which is a moss agate. It's just stunning in white gold and yellow gold and diamonds with a big moss agate in the middle. I remember how I got that piece. It was at a jewelry show, and I was looking at it, admiring the amazing gem, and then that was given as a surprise. So that was really wonderful, it's a really special piece. And we have certainly more traditional people that come in and buy diamond stud earrings. And you can buy sterling silver hoops and gold hoops and things like that. But we try to pick each piece by hand to add into the collections to make the store look unique.

Jason: If you had an opportunity to dress a famous person alive or from the past, who would it be and why?

Marla: My most favorite pieces of jewelry, outside of rings, which I mentioned earlier, but even including rings, are pearls. I am fascinated by pearls. I absolutely love them. And I think that Coco Chanel is just incredible. To be able to put pearls on one of her little black dresses would be stunning for me. She was friends with Pablo Picasso, one of my favorite artists. And to be part of that whole collection and that time is just incredibly profound to me. So, if I could give her a strand of pearls, it would just be amazing.

Jason: Is there an engagement or romantic customer story, I'm sure you have many, but do you have one you can share with us?

Marla: I do have lots. We try to get to know our customers really well, and we end up being friends with so many of them, so many of our engagement customers we keep in touch with. Jewelry is sentimental to me. And my niece is soon to be engaged, she doesn't know that yet. I'm originally from outside of Pittsburgh, western Pennsylvania. And my youngest brother, this is my youngest brother's daughter, and she lives there still. And she came down to Virginia Tech to follow her boyfriend, who started at Virginia Tech in baseball. So, she was originally going to school somewhere else, and she changed her mind and came down to Blacksburg. And she was here for five years going to school. And then he changed his mind on schooling and decided to go to San Francisco in the restaurant business. First, she was going to go to Ohio, and then she came to Virginia, and then he left Virginia and went to San Francisco, and then she stayed in Virginia, and now she finished school and moved to San Francisco. And after seven years of the two of them moving around—they were high school sweethearts—and through all of the changes, I would have never thought that the relationship would have been able to make it. And now she's in San Francisco and he is too. And he called me a couple of months ago to get an engagement ring. And I'm so excited. It's in my safe right now and she doesn't know that. So, in just a week or so, I'm going to send it to San Francisco. And I'm so happy for them. We had Parade Designs help design the ring. And he picked out a beautiful cushion diamond and she's going to be over the moon when she sees it. I can't wait.

Jason: I'm so excited for you. You're a happy aunt. Congratulations.