Mark's Blog

A Valuable Lesson Learned…

December 18th, 2010

To finish the story about my wife’s ring returning to our family…After talking to the owner of Noble Jewelers (where our ring was purchased by the woman who returned it to me) he would not share any information on how the ring came into his hands and referred me to local law enforcement (incredibly gracious of him don’t you think?) The local Lee county officer in charge of the area of “second hand dealers” educated me in depth about the process I thought I was familiar with. I discovered that because my wife and I had not filed a police report in regards to the missing ring, (we never knew what happened to it) law enforcement could not compel Noble Jewelers to release any info regarding their purchase of the ring off the street. If we had filed one, law enforcement would be able to request the info and possibly track down the person who stole it from us. So here is the part you need to know…for WHATEVER reason, should you lose something of value (mysterious disappearance) or you think it is stolen, you need to file a police report. That report then establishes ownership to you if the item should turn up in someone else’s possession. You would then go down to the county clerk’s office and file a “writ of replenishment” which would allow law enforcement to confiscate your item on your behalf and you would not have to re-compensate the party that was in possession. Which means that I would not have had to pay to recover my wife’s ring! Valuable lesson right? (according to law enforcement, the store owner could have shared the info on the paperwork with me if he so chose…) My wife and I are not looking to prosecute anyone: we would like to know if the person who sold that store our ring is familiar to us or if we are currently allowing that person into our home..wouldn’t you want to know? Next time we will file that police report even if theft is not suspected… The second best part of the story is the wonderful woman who so graciously handed my wife’s ring back to me and is allowing me the opportunity to design a new, one-of-a-kind, ring just for her….Many thanks to Kathleen and Happy Holidays to you all! May your treasures find their way back to you this New Year…

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Another Lost Mark Loren Piece Comes Home

December 5th, 2010

Our annual, client , holiday party wasn’t even 20 minutes old when I was introduced to one of our client’s friends that she had brought along for our festivities. I was introduced to Kathleen and she said she was so excited to finally meet me as she owned one of our pieces but, that she hadn’t purchased it from us. I said ” Wonderful!” thinking someone had gifted it to her and I asked her if she had the piece with her and she smiled and raised her hand to show me the magnificent ring perched there. I took one look at it and asked if we could have a private word in my workstudio… When we were alone I shared with her that I had made that ring for my wife as an anniversary present and that it had gone missing from our home more than 2 years ago! She informed me that she had purchased the ring within the year from another jewelry store in Fort Myers (more on that later…) and it was the only piece in the entire store that caught her attention.  I asked if she would allow me to either, re-purchase the ring from her for what she had paid or could I re-design a new one-of-a-kind ring for her of equal or greater value of what she had paid. She graciously removed the ring and placed it in my hand and said she would be thrilled to have me design a special piece for her (as happy tears filled her eyes). Kathleen was so glad that the ring had found its’ way back to its’ rightful owner and how happy my wife will be to know her special piece has come home…

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A Scintillating Visit

December 5th, 2010

Simon & Laurie Watt sharing their passion with Trish

Our good friends Simon and Laurie Watt arrived in town to share their gemstones with two lovely couples who had purchased our donated package to the Southwest Florida Food and Wine Fest. I have known Simon and Laurie for almost 25 years and everytime they open their bags of gemological wonders, I swoon with delight. I’m a colored gem freak and they are the pushers to my barely controlled habit. (the truth is they are as addicted as I am) We were fortunate in that their schedule had them arriving a couple of days early from Sri Lanka so we were able to invite clients who share our passion for colored gems to come in and view their newest finds. The amazing thing is many jewelers don’t have the opportunity to view their wares as the Watts are very selective about which retailers they choose to work with and then to have them sit with our private clients and share their adventures of discovering the newest gems and showing them to our clients…unheard of! Simon says most stores don’t enroll their customers in the incredible beauty of colored gems and they don’t have an evident passion to share. He says that these rare colored gems like cinnamon Zircon, Brazilian Alexandrite and Nigerian red tourmaline call out to you and mesmerize with their fire and intense colors. Most jewelry stores don’t understand nor educate their clients about how unique these jewels are. Our customers oooohed and aaaahhed alongside our staff and everyone went away richer and slightly poorer.
Our couples who came in for their special evening found the vast palate of intense colors almost overwhelming. We drank wonderful champagne, nibbled on delicious eats from The Flying Pig and wondered at the spectacular gems that the earth has to offer. We all found the experience empowering and educational.
Now the talented design staff and I get to dig in to the scintillating goodies to create our newest creations!

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Carve for the cure

October 24th, 2010

I was honored and fortunate to be asked to carve a pumpkin that would be auctioned-off to raise money to fight breast cancer. What I absolutely loved about this opportunity was that it was original and allowed me to have fun with my skills and be in excellent company with talented physicians from our community who were also invited to carve! I have to admit that my polystyrene pumpkin sat on the shelf near my bench for a couple of weeks while I attempted to tap into my deep well of pumpkin-carving creativity. I also resisted the urge to climb onto the internet and pull-up cool designs. Unfortunately, no hallowed muse visited me in my sleep. With great angst, I googled “pumpkin- carving” and was rewarded with the most incredible images..but they mostly looked like CNC carvings or photo etched, computer enhanced somethings…not what I wanted. I really enjoy shifting the context of an object from the everyday expectation to one not thought of at all. One of my goldsmiths suggested a “Jack-in-the-box” idea and I loved it! Perfect for a Jack-o-Lantern! Alas, polystyrene pumpkins don’t lend themselves readily to the intricacies of jack-in-the-box mechanics. I decided to retro-fit a real jack box inside of the fake pumpkin and marry the two. Now for the pop out surprise…what to use? Thank you Toys-R-Us for their awesome Halloween goodies. I found a spectacular eyeball that would serve to come blasting out of the top of my gourd-of-horror.
My production staff in our workshop had to listen to me swearing and muttering foul pumpkin things as I tried to retro-fit and carve the damn, possessed thing. Hours of scalpel work, flex-shaft carving and Gorilla gluing tested my resolve and patience. After painting it black and hand-painting the blood red face on, I was ready to hand it over to the committee, only the crank wouldn’t release the poltergeist top lid! Finally solved that little problem and safely delivered the dark, horrific orb to the proper authorities. If I never hear “Pop goes the weasel” ever again, that will be absolutely fine with me. I heard the auction was a blast and Dr. & Mrs. Jon Kagan were the lucky bidders on my possessed artwork.  I thank them for all their support and my staff for all their patience… on to trick or treating!

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The proposal is the true gem

September 29th, 2010

Mark Loren Designs ad with CAD engagement ringsI read many of the articles in our trade magazines and am always looking for new tips, advice and innovative ways to market our inventory and services to clients. I have become a student of running a business based on the numbers and not just the emotion…although for many, many years the emotion is what ran my business. When focusing strictly on the numbers I was experiencing a disconnect from the passion and joy of the craft that I love to do.

I have come to realize that by running my business in a viable and responsible manner, it allows me the opportunity to be MORE emotional about what we do.

Almost all jewelers I have met think of themselves as retailers first and craftsmen second, but the truth about what we do is much more poignant and romantic!

We deliver love from one person to another….yes, really!  People hire us and come to us to assist them in communicating love to someone special in their life. Engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary gifts, birthday presents, etc… all part of being the messenger of love and admiration!

As an artist, I am emotionally connected to the work I produce or collaborate on and when someone finds my work capable of communicating the love that they have for another by presenting them with my creation as a gift… how much better does it get? The disconnect for me was forgetting that we are in the business of romance first and retail second…

That’s why, in our gallery, the proposal is so special and we take extra time and care to assist guys with the perfect proposal. We’ve got the ring part down and can comfortably walk even the most nervous groom-to-be through the diamond buying process and designing the ring. The proposal is where we love to shine! That’s where all the romance lives! Who cares how big the diamond is or how much it cost if the proposal is boring, uncreative, lacking in romance, possibility or style? Done with love, whit and unique care, the proposal is the true gem!

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I love LED’s…!

September 6th, 2010

We have mostly finished replacing our gallery’s halogen spots with LED bulbs. Yaaaay! The reduction in heat that the halogens produce is tremendous. If anyone is considering replacing their old bulbs with new LED’s, don’t wait. The technology is finally here (they have had it in Europe already) and the result is beautiful and comparable to the effect of a halogen spotlight. The bulbs don’t produce any discernible heat and our air-conditioning bill is 25% lower! I can’t begin to tell you how many times, over the years, I have burn’t the hell out of my fingers fiddling with super hot, halogen light bulbs.The photo below shows the rich tones that the LED’s produce and in our low ceiling, poorly air-conditioned gallery, the heat savings is a blessing and comfort to the staff and clients. I’ve always had a fascination for LED’s and have a dozen tactical lights and even blinking, LED watches. We use UV LED lights to judge flourescence in gemstones for gem identification. I even have one built into my reading glasses for nighttime reading. What is it about our fascination for these little, colorful and incredibly bright wonders?

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Perfect Prank Proposal

August 28th, 2010

I recently had the good fortune to participate in one of the most original proposals of my career.
Eben had asked us to set a diamond for his intended fiancee and while he was watching me remove and reset the large diamond, I asked him how he planned to give her the ring. I explained that one of the things we have learned over 25 years of providing engagement rings is that the proposal is JUST as important as the diamond ring. While she will show everyone the ring, she will also tell everyone the story of how you asked her…
Eben took this all to heart and said he would contemplate how he wanted to make the proposal. We decided to take the old, yellow gold, tiffany setting and set a large cubic zirconia into it and he would present that ring to her on a romantic boat ride. Except when it came time to slip the ring on KiKi’s finger, he would nervously drop the ring over the side of the boat! He asked me to be nearby, onshore, and pull up in our armored car when the situation looked hopeless and deliver to him the “real” diamond ring. Between texts and military-like prep, we were on-site and ready to go when the two lovebirds cruised by in Eben’s boat. He pulled it off like a master and we were johnny on the spot with the real ring! I’ll never forget watching KiKi look over the side and frantically direct Eben’s steering to the “drop zone”. I was actually thinking she might dive overboard for a moment. Major congratulations to the happy couple and to the fun imagination that made for the perfect prank proposal…

Eben & KiKi and the real rock!

 

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I LOVE the smell of new school supplies!

August 4th, 2010

Mark Loren Designs is a collection site for The Foundation for Lee Public Schools, school supplies drive. The Foundation keeps them in their office and they will be available for any teacher in the district who needs supplies for particular students who don’t have any pencils, paper, rulers or other necessary items. We have been collecting at the gallery and every person or business (thanks Bank America) that drops-off items, makes our hearts soar. How do I know it will make someone incredibly happy to get that hot pink, pencil box? My youngest daughter and I stopped by Big Lots with our $75 dollar donation budget and went right to the huge school supply aisle. We found fantastic prices on the materials we wanted to get and I noticed that I was getting excited picking out crayons and erasers! I was transported back 40 some odd years to when my grandfather would take us boys to the store to buy our “back to school” stuff. We didn’t have itemized lists then but he seemed to always know what was required and we were always allowed to pick out one “extravagant” extra like a cool pencil box or mechanical pen. I vividly remember getting home and racing upstairs to view and sort through my new stuff…the look of it, the smell of the new notebooks and crayon boxes…and all this was coming back to me in the aisle at Big Lots. My daughter woke me from my reverie, “Dad come on, you’re doing that zone out thing on me again!” When Haise saw all the pencil packs I was buying she asked about picking out pencil sharpeners at 75cents each. I sadly mentioned we were over budget already and she volunteered $5 of her allowance so whoever got pencils would also have a lime green sharpener too.
As we were packing the bags in the trunk of the car I caught her sniffing the bags and smiling….hopefully creating her own special memories.

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You can’t put a price on Sentiment

July 18th, 2010

Some of our most favorite creations at Mark Loren Designs are the pieces that clients bring us that are infused with sentimental value. These pieces may not even be classified as jewelry but, when we finish with them, they are true works of art. Often we take a client’s wedding band from a deceased spouse or wedding bands from someone’s parents or grandparents and without significantly changing the shape of the ring, we are able to turn the bands into an awesome, pendant or brooch. We derive tremendous satisfaction when we are able to take something that has been sitting in someone’s drawer or jewelry box and give it a new chance to be worn everyday. The photo below shows a pair of wedding bands that a client brought to us that belonged to her and her late husband. They were matching bands and she wanted us to create something that would utilize the two rings without changing them significantly. We hand-fabricated the bands into two hearts and you can still see the outside finish that was on their bands when they were married 24 years ago! The rubies that are visible were part of a ring that was his first jewelry gift to her before they were married and a great treasure for her. I learned early in my jewelry making career that what is not valuable to one person is a priceless treasure to another…So we assist clients in showcasing the priceless sentimental value of their pieces by recreating them with a new look and purpose. Another example: my wife Sheri’s late grandmother was a very talented seamstress and she used to make extra money for the family by designing and sewing wedding gowns for young girls in her small town in upstate New York. She even had custom-made labels with her name embroidered on them that she could sew into the dresses that she had created. When Sheri was clearing her grandmother’s things out she found a few of these 40 year old labels in a tiny sewing box. For a present for Sheri and my sister-in-law, I created tiny glass and sterling pendant frames for the labels so they could both wear their grandmother’s signature proudly as jewelry! Do you have any precious memories sitting in the dark in a drawer or box somewhere? Who do you know that would love and appreciate having them as a special gift in a piece of jewelry? It doesn’t have to be diamonds, sapphires or rubies to be precious…

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How my Dad inspires me…

July 12th, 2010

A very few of you have met my dad, Lyle. He has been an incredible influence/mentor in my life and I wanted to take a moment and give him the acknowledgment he deserves. My brothers, sister and I talk together about what a “white bread”, “middle America” upbringing we share. We never saw our parents fight, drunk or strike each other (ok, I do remember seeing my Dad drunk one time and peeing in the clothes hamper in the bathroom). Our parents always put our needs before theirs and always seemed to be incredibly concerned about the mental and physical health of our family. When I was graduating high school I wasn’t sure which direction I should pursue…Pre-med and become an eye surgeon (I loved science) or try and do something connected to jewelry. There were no other family members involved in the jewelry business so there really was a lack of industry knowledge. My dad suggested and helped me research technical and trade schools to see what was available. The fact that he didn’t push me to follow a traditional educational path was a huge relief. Surprisingly, he was an accomplished metallurgical engineer and wasn’t sure how he got there. For him to lay back and not pressure me to go to a four-year college was out of character. My mom always supported my artistic talent and that may be where it derives from…
Luckily, we found a technical school that taught jewelry making, diamond setting, watch repair and jewelry design. My Dad said that I should give it a try and after a year, if a wasn’t happy, go to college somewhere. Well here I am and I feel that I made the right choice. My Dad is currently living in a care facility outside of Chicago for patients with Demensia and Alzhiemers. He recognizes me and the rest of our family and friends but his memory is fraying. Now, the most important thing he asks us is not, “what’s going on?” but “Are we happy?” and how much he loves us. Funny, those were always the most important things to him since we were kids….

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