I started in the jewelry business when I married my husband in 1984. He grew up in a family jewelry store and my father-in-law inspired me to get into the business. Many years later, I still love to be on the sales floor! Being a part of the most special time in someone’s life can be very rewarding. There’s nothing like a hug from a client when she comes in to tell me that she said “yes!”. Or getting to hold the baby for the first time after selling a “push present”. Or hearing nostalgic stories from a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary.
I’ve always loved to design jewelry for clients. My goal is to help them find their inner designer. It makes each piece of jewelry that I create so personal. So when my husband’s job moved us from Iowa to Louisiana, I dreamed of opening up a jewelry store that focused on custom design. My dream came true when I opened up Dianna Rae Jewelry. Everything we do is custom, whether for stock or for a client. And with Matrix, CounterSketch and 3D printing, custom gets easier every day.
It’s pretty different here in the south. People are so, so nice. They love to share their family stories, their heritage, and of course, their food! Because heritage is so important here, we make a lot of family crest type jewelry like cuff links and rings.
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When a client asked me to make an eternity band with 12 one carat radiant cut diamonds, I couldn’t have imagined doing it without the technology that I have today. The diamonds had to be precision cut and matched to fit her finger size. The cutter scanned them and sent me the STL files of each diamond for our Matrix design. When she tried it on for the first time and it fit perfectly, we all breathed a sigh of relief.
As much as I love my job and my clients, I have to remind myself how important it is to maintain a balance. I keep God first, then family and friends, then work. Being a wife and a mom and a business owner can be crazy at times. But really, life is too short to be boring.
