Lumina Gem

Jan 11

In their own words

“We’re going to offer a local section in our new store. There are eight different designers I’ll be featuring, from gemstone cutters and gold and silver designers to watch-winder makers.”

-Brad Bass

Jason’s Interview with Brad

Jason

Today's a really exciting one. We get to talk to Brad Bass from Lumina in Wilmington. Brad, how did you get into the industry?

Brad

I wanted to be a graphic designer; I wanted to be an architect, but never a jeweler. But I always had an interest in gems, rocks, and minerals as a kid. I think I had that underlying potential. I went to East Carolina University and started in their graphic design program. We had to take some two-dimensional, three-dimensional art courses. One of the three-dimensional courses I took was metal design. I loved it so much; I ended up changing my major to metal design.

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Jason
How did you get your start, and where are you now?

Brad
I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from East Carolina. From there, I took a couple courses at Pemlin, which involved stone setting, mechanisms, building hinges, clasps, doing granular, forging, forming. I also went to GIA after that because I didn't know anything about gemstones. People are always asking me about gemstones and diamonds. At the time, GIA offered a business module that included entrepreneurship, marketing, and management. They partnered me with a guy that already had a business, and he was taking his business over from his father. We took what he already had and created this business. I took the plunge in 2009 after I'd worked for a local retailer for about five years.

Jason
What's it like when somebody enters your store?

Brad
It’s a very laid-back, welcoming vibe. Nobody wears a suit. We're very friendly, open, and welcoming. We offer people drinks and snacks to make them feel at home. The caliber of people that I have working with me as far as sales and product knowledge really helps.

Jason
Why should I come and be part of your experience at Lumina?

Brad
We're like a family retreat. We are involved in the community. We give back. We're going to offer a local section in our new store. There's eight different designers that I'll be featuring, from gemstone cutters to gold and silver designers, watch-winder makers.

Jason
You give back to the community. Tell us some key ones you want our audience to know about.

Brad
We give back to this organization called Dreams of Wilmington. I'd say it's similar to Boys and Girls Club, but it focuses more on the visual and performing arts for underprivileged kids. It's a place for them to go after school and stay out of trouble and focus on art, whatever they want to do, whether it be photography, painting, guitar lessons, whatever. We give a percentage of everything we sell from certain lines to Dreams.

Jason
What are three or four pieces that stand out?

Brad
I'm a big sapphire guy. Love sapphires, especially Montana sapphires. One of my friends is a cutter. Every year, he goes to Tucson and buys all this rough and cuts them. His name’s Chris Wolfsberg, he’s amazing. I have another friend named Clay Zava, who is another amazing award-winning cutter. There's one piece in particular—it’s a Montana sapphire that's cut like a fan and has a halo of diamonds. It's nothing like anything else I've ever seen. We also have Sylvia Benson—she does a lot of gold over brass. And then we're also going to start carrying Orbita Watch Winders, which is a local Wilmington company as well.

Jason
What makes your store cool, and what are the trends you have now?

Brad
People are going back to gold in our area, especially textured gold, brush gold, mixing gold with rose gold, a lot of mixed metal. We're getting away from your traditional engagement ring, too. We're doing a lot of things with colored stones, mainly sapphires. That's what I normally recommend because they're a little harder, and their wearability is a little better. A lot of lariat-style necklaces seem to be selling. The biggest part of our business is estate jewelry. A lot of times, we'll take estate jewelry that's been beat up, and we’ll repurpose that, re-texture, try to bring it up to a more modern look.

Jason
And building that trust and reputation, what does that mean to you?

Brad
Our reputation is everything. It's our livelihood. We try to treat everybody as fair and as truthful as possible.

Jason
Here's your chance to say whatever you like to Meet the Jewelers.

Brad
Always listen to your gut and don't be influenced by shady people. Come by to see us some time.