Thanks everybody! CB: What are your most popular products? C&S: Our single most popular product was an accident. Those who like numbers tell us that we are now the largest fashion jewellery supply company in the world. However, we don’t measure success in numbers because customers aren’t numbers, employees aren’t numbers, and vendors aren’t numbers. The bulk of the growth is from referrals one jewellery maker referring us to another. CB: What has been your greatest success so far? C&S: Our greatest joy has been watching our customer lists grow worldwide. Anybody want to buy a room full of dumb ideas? We’ll say it again: when you need good ideas for products or processes, ask your customers. CB: What has been your greatest challenge? C&S: Resisting well-intentioned advice, mainly from employees and friends who have wanted us to jump onto every fad and gimmick. You really have to learn to listen and to be open to questioning some of your own beliefs. That’s about the extent of the worldly wisdom we have to pass along. CB: What approach do you take when it comes to the jewellery and beading market? C&S: When we were just starting out, a seasoned businesswoman told us, ‘Take good care of your customer and your customer will take good care of you’. In 1986, we moved to Oregon, USA, where we now operate as a full-service, jewellery-making supply company. This was lots more fun than engineering and we soon moved to commercial quarters, and became a rock and gem/silversmithing shop. We started sending out flyers with lists of cut and uncut stones. We put small ads in trade magazines and started selling cut and uncut, rough gems. Soon we had four people in the garage, cutting full time. The problem came when we became buried in finished stones and had to start selling them to keep going. This was a great hobby for an engineer – angles, optics and gemology. The hobby was lapidary – cutting faceted stones. How did the business get started? Chris & Stuart: It started as a hobby in 1973. Craft Business: Tell us about the history of Fire Mountain Gems.
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