Minding Your Business: My Girlfriend’s Jewelry Box

Name of Business: My Girlfriend’s Jewelry Box

Address: 222 Broad St., Waverly, NY 14892

Website: www.mygirlfriendsjewelrybox.com

Social Media: www.facebook.com/mygirlfriendsjewelrybox

# Years in Business: 7

Owner/Owners: Diana Talcott

Why did you start your business? When I got introduced to beads and jewelry-making I fell in love with it. Whenever I saw an empty store front, I would jokingly tell my husband that it would make a great bead store. Before long, he was saying it, too. It was hard to leave the corporate job I was at, so it remained a dream until our business closed the local branch. Not long after, I approached the owner of a small bead store whom I knew wanted to retire, and my dream came true.

Tell me about your business: Our business has two small store fronts. One side is beads, jewelry-making supplies, handmade jewelry and a variety of gemstones. We help you get away from everyday life by helping you tap into your creativity and feel great about yourself. If you aren’t into creating, we love to make custom jewelry, as well. The other part of our business is a unique gift shop. We carry a variety of gifts for women, men and babies, including candles, handmade soaps, and women’s clothing, just to name a few items.

Who are your customers? Most of our customers are middle-aged women looking to get out of the house and start a new hobby, but we host a number of classes, birthday parties and even Girl Scout troops.

What did you do differently during the pandemic that kept your business alive? I posted a lot of my items on Facebook. My customers would ask me to meet them so they could do curbside pick-up. I also did some shipping.

Other Important Information: We have built our website to be able to sell online. It is a work in progress.

Interested in having a business featured in Southern Tier Life's "Minding Your Business"? Email your information to info.southerntierlife@gmail.com.