| abstract | - BJW Magical Jewelers HISTORY [www.BJWMagicalJewelers.com] By Robbie Willmarth The idea for a piece of jewelry came to me in 1988 after our magical friend, Dick Jarrow, gave me one of his “treasures,” a brass chain made of three interlocking loops. He handed it to me and asked, “See if you can get this puzzle back to what appears to be two interlocking chains.” The seed was planted then. I wanted a sterling silver rendition and one that would fit tightly over a knuckle to wear as a piece of jewelry. I talked to jewelers from San Francisco to West Hartford and learned this was not an easy task. I learned after giving the original to a jeweler, that it was not so easy to replicate. In fact, after six months it was returned with a note of apology. In January 2004 I found a jeweler in Durham who was intrigued with the process. That was all I needed. For a great deal of money for their labor, three solders, and a “fitting,” I had my sterling silver puzzle bracelet. The salesclerk’s response, “That’s impossible!” In July 2004 at the International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) Convention in Cleveland, Ohio I was having lunch with Gay Blackstone and Harriet Jacobson. When they asked about the bracelet, I told them the above story. The discussion led to the lack of fine jewelry, made of precious metals in the magic world. The idea of forming a business emerged. We saw the lack and decided then and there we needed to fill the void. We made the decision over lunch that we would focus on fine metals with a magical connection. Our next meeting would be at Abbott’s Get-Together in August. In Colon, MI, August 2004, I cut sterling links and configured bracelets of chain to fit Gay, Harriet, Michael, and Phil. We discussed the name, the type of business, and our business plan. We decided on officers and where we would locate our state of business. We agreed on an all or nothing approach -- all three of us have to approve an item to be in our line of magically themed jewelry. In the months that followed, we managed to work through all the details with weekly conference calls. Harriet attended Detroit jewelry conventions to seek out items that had a magical theme. She talked to jewelers in Michigan about working with us on our various projects. From that search, we found a local jeweler who is proficient in the time honored lost-wax technique. Additionally, she’s handling the financial end of BJW Magical Jewelers. I worked with Tony Dunn of Florida to come up with a classic logo. This was followed by locating a local designer in Durham NC to put together our paper line. Gay worked with her Los Angeles and Redlands businesses to find sources for our packaging, display items, photo album of items, and silk jackets to wear when we’re working at conventions. We are still working out jewelry details, and have learned that custom-made work is just that. It’s one of a kind, not mass-produced, and it takes time. We listen to our customer’s requests and try to answer their wants. We had thirteen items when we introduced ourselves to the magical community at the I.B.M. Convention in Reno July 2005. Since that time, we’ve added convention special sterling charms, focusing on the place or the theme of the convention. We guarantee our customers happiness on all items. We have found that by limiting our line to 18k and sterling silver we have dealers and magicians interested in our items. Our success is due to our happy customers who have been generous in telling others about BJW.
|
