Just a Click Away

So often you know what you’re looking for, but don’t know the designer. Or you may have a specific look in mind, but don’t know exactly what needs to be purchased to achieve it. Maybe, you’ve seen something on a television show or red carpet but can’t quite seem to remember if they were pear-shaped or round drop earrings.

With the invention and further expansion of the internet, the search is being narrowed! Some major magazines like People, InStyle, and Lucky already have tools on their websites that allow consumers to click on a celebrity image and learn more about what they’re wearing. Site like SeenOn.com and Like.com are taking the search an easy step forward.

Like.com does a “likeness” search so that if you’ve seen a great handbag or pair of shoes they’ll pull from a MASSIVE amount of internet knowledge and show similar items. A visual search is also available so when you see a pair of red platform pump you have to have, just go to shoes and color.

SeenOn.com offers a more celebrity centric approach with categories like TV, Movies, Music, Products and most specifically Celebrities and sub-categories for red carpets, network shows and so on. And those Oscar looks mentioned below, check them out here.

Update: JCK's Style360 blog does a thorough coverage of many of the women's fashions at the Oscars here.

All or Nothing

When you buy jewelry, is it all part of a master plan, buying a whole suite or piece to complete a suite, or do you mix and match what you like and just “make it work”? Some people just have a flair for putting on anything, mixing and matching different brands, different metals, different stones . . . and making it look great! Meanwhile . . . everyone else is stuck working hard for an effortless look. What’s your style?

Many times on the red carpet, celebrities will wear one stand-out piece and maybe accent with a few smaller pieces. The Oscars are Sunday night, so we’ll see what the trend is this year. In the meantime, take a look back at Oscar red carpet fashions from the 1930’s all the way up to the past five years.

Happy Valentines Day!

5 Days and Counting. . .

Less than one week and yet another holiday is upon us once again. For cup half empty guys Valentine’s Day can incite fear and dread, but for cup half full guys it’s seen as the perfect chance to redeem yourself after that Christmas gift bombed in front of her WHOLE, ENTIRE family. Who knew a deep fryer wasn’t on her list?!? Everyone loves chicken wings, right? And she may even use it to make you some chicken wings, meaning everybody wins! Right.

In a recent Jewelry.com survey, 50% of women expected to be disappointed this Valentine’s Day with the gift they received. In all fairness though, when asked what they really wanted, 50% also said diamond jewelry and we all know women don’t always ask for what they really want, so the guys aren’t completely to blame. In the survey, 90% of participants admitted that at some point they had bought themselves diamond jewelry for Valentine’s Day in the past. So maybe it just that expectations are high, but never verbalized, or that guys are just focused on practicality and function (and really, nothing will make your life better than getting her something she loves), or maybe it’s a combination.

This time around it might be best to stick to the list, and if she doesn’t have one, all Fink’s Jewelers are stocked with wish lists cards to make life a little easier.

Seeing Stars. . .

Sometimes we see stars. Real, live stars hanging around Fink's events and employees. We hadn’t mentioned it? That’s cause we know how to play it cool, or at least hide our excitement until the photo is taken.

Short Pump’s Vicki Robinson with John Travolta:


MacArthur Center Manager Dan Schaffer with John Travolta:


SouthPark’s Anna Gordon with Rusty Wallace:


Watch Buyer Mitch Skaggs with Tiger Woods:

In this corner we have. . .

Yellow gold! It is undeniable that trends filter down to different parts of the country at different times. After all, we see magazines coming from New York telling us the hottest jewelry right now is yellow gold and images of celebrities wearing yellow gold everywhere, but the average Jane in Middle America loves her white gold, platinum and silver pieces she wears every day.

But wait, just a few years ago weren’t we all supposed to be wearing white gold, platinum and the high-end high quality new and exciting silver brands according to the fashion powers that be? Are you outdated, unfashionable if you still wear the lighter hued metals? Do you have to update to yellow gold? What if you have your great-grandmother’s heirloom pieces from the first half of the 20th century? And you LOVE wearing them? It’s not like the green eye shadow that was the hot color of spring 2006, jewelry can be an investment (especially the matrimonial kind), and something many women build their jewelry wardrobes around!

Change is never easy, especially when the change being proposed is something as personal as jewelry, a keystone of your personal style. Are you expected to buy the hot, new trend every season? Of course not, unless you want to! But adding pieces throughout the year that you love and will wear for years to come never goes out of style! Bottom line, everything old is new again and will be 10, 15 and even 20 years from now too!

Technology, wonderful technology. . .

Since mentioning our change over to a new operating system in the last post, now is the perfect time to introduce an integral part of the switch as well as the Fink’s family.

Rhonda Ellis is celebrating her first anniversary with Fink’s this month! She is our internal auditor and deals with not only the stores, but every one in corporate if there is a question about the new system. . .

I've heard many folks say that “nothing stays constant except for change”. The statement seems to hold very true for our company after reflecting over the past year. With a new store opening, two established stores moving and one of the stores closing the doors, our company was also introduced to a new computer operating system this year.

Craftsman for Windows, known as C4W, is a program with a Microsoft® Windows® operating base. This provides Fink’s employees with the more common Windows® appearance and functionality that many are already used to seeing on their home computers.

Fink’s customers will also reap the benefits from the recent computer changes. Faster processing time, more receipt detail and on-hand, immediate customer history information are just a few of the benefits our customers will see. We all appreciate your patience as we are still learning and adapting to our new system.

Hats off to Todd Stafford, Vice President of Information Systems, and to Todd Peters, Senior Auditor and Systems Analyst, who spent many long nights and weekends working on this system, ensuring that everything was ready to go. Lots of caffeine and chocolate were essential to keep them going during this long and trying implementation!

As for now, I will prepare to put my “auditing” hat back on and step back from the IT world. Good bye for now and happy shopping!

~Rhonda Ellis
Corporate Offices, Roanoke

Good-bye 2007. . .

On this 31st day of December, many people take a look back at the past year. Some may make resolutions for the New Year; getting organized, losing weight and exercising more top many people’s resolution lists. The beauty of these resolutions is that we stay the same (same person, same place), but get to change. What better excuse to take the person you are and turn into the person you want to be? The advantage is that there are 365 in which to do so!

As a company Fink’s took on many new projects in 2007. All our stores were converted to a new operating system, we closed and opened and relocated some locations, and we launched a new website and blog but ultimately stayed the same company at our core through the value Fink’s customer’s have come to expect.

So what are your resolutions? Are you going dramatic or taking baby steps? Throughout 2008 you get to see ours unfold right here!

Feel the Rush

Being right in the middle of the holiday season it’s not uncommon to hear the question, “Have you finished your shopping?” With the Super Tuesday of gifting only four days away it’s a good time to look at the holiday shopping personalities of consumers.

Do you meticulously make a list months in advance, double-checking names to make sure all are accounted; then think of every conversation you’ve had with those people in the past year as to hints on not only their psyche, but what gift would suit them best? Or, do you just give gift cards to one and all? Is Black Friday the equivalent of your Super Bowl, or is December 24th? Are you just lucky in finding those perfect gifts in your everyday shopping? Or, will we be seeing you 3 days from now with a look of panic of your face looking for something to light up her face, perfectly wrapped and placed in a little black bag?

419 Holiday Designers' Showcase

The title of this post is just simply the title of the event. Nothing else seemed to do it enough justice to warrant that coveted title position and the excitement surrounding this special night. Some of the vendor representatives that attended were from Mikimoto, David Yurman, John Hardy, Breitling, Roberto Coin, DiModolo, Marco Bicego, Lady Heart, Ritani, and SUWA.

It was a night of great concentration. . . after all, with so much to choose from you want to make sure you get the right one, or maybe more than one. . .

After much thought and concentration, it was time to loosen up and celebrate!

Official greeter, Executive Assistant Connie Light.

This year it was decided by the powers that be that a fashion show was in order. . .so our Director of Sales Training, Charlene Hudson, took the reigns and made it happen!

Charlene in the background emceeing and VP Mark Bair being a gentleman, as always.

Immediately following that, there was a drawing for a custom designed ring or pendant from Ritani. . .

High fives all around!

Winner Shawn Best holding the diamond, with 419 @ Colonial manager Debbie Cochran.

With Harout Ritani choosing the perfect design.

And our love of delicious food has been mentioned hasn't it? This spread did not disappoint.

It was such a wonderful night for Fink's employees and our customers alike. We can't wait for next year!!!

Events, and Then More Events

This fourth quarter has been an especially busy time for Fink's Jewelers with planning, executing and enjoying our customer events. The next few posts will have photos from our events both at our stores and off site. And other event photos will be shown in the side bar to the left.

First is the John Hardy event held at the Charles Luck Stone Center in Richmond by Architectural Digest and Fink's. John Hardy's leading designer, Guy Bedarida, was present and brought along special one-of-a-kind pieces from the Cinta Collection as well as Hardy classics.

And those shots are just of the amazing jewelry. Here at corporate we LOVE good food, not to mention the great location!

And finally. . .these two ladies made the trek from Fink's corporate office in Roanoke to make sure things ran smoothly.

John Hardy Buyer Kristie Lipscomb & Marketing Director Lindsey Kirby

On the Cutting Edge of Jewelry Fashion

In the Spring/Summer 2007 Issue of JCK there were two trends that we noticed and loved. Both relate to nature, earth and the elements, but are very different in style. We showcased both these trends in our holiday catalog which hit homes this month.

The first is “Be Wilderness” and takes a look at earth inspired themes in jewelry this year. Since we were planning our catalog at the time this issue was published, we felt somewhat validated with our choices for the John Hardy pages especially. The new JH Kawung collection is, in a word, divine! The entire collection is bold and elemental with gold and sterling silver in the natural patterns and shapes of leaves and gemstones in colors that could only be found in nature. The mailing of the JH catalog on November 19 went into 30,000 of Fink’s customer’s homes to share this collection and win them over, like it did us!

Another mention was the use of different golds. White, yellow and rose gold, oh my! Roberto Coin specifically carries gold in these hues in several collections, like the Chic and Shine collection that is featured side by side with white, yellow and rose gold bangles and earrings in our holiday catalog as well. We also mailed 5,000 Coin catalogs to our customers on November 5 that show not only varieties in gold, but some animal inspired designs as well.

Speaking of animals as inspiration . . .

The second trend is “Animal Attraction” and focuses on the literal and implied use of our 4 (or more) legged friends in jewelry design. Roberto Coin uses crafts beautiful pieces in his Animalier collection that are named Cobra, Giraffe, Leopard, Lizard, Nemo and more! John Hardy also takes the animal theme quite literal and makes gorgeous creepy crawlies out of gold and silver. In fact we used some to highlight our about JH page in the spring JH mailer we produced in-house at Fink’s.

Another, less literal way in which animals are used is in the David Yurman Men’s line. Alligator, Rhinoceros, Tiger’s Eye, Dinosaur Bone and Thoroughbred are all par for the course in this line. Whether in style, texture or stone depends on the individual piece.

Have you seen these trends in stores this season? Are you wearing them, wanting them?

The catalogs are coming... The catalogs are coming!!

Triangle Town Center Store Manager Claire Brown w/ Emily Karlinski on Halloween

This time of year is always exciting for me. As with anyone, I love seeing my own family and giving thanks. The Fink's holiday catalog, released near Thanksgiving each year, specifically brings back a lot of memories for me.

Far before I ever worked for the company, or even went to school - for that matter, I roamed the halls of SouthPark mall- catching a free ride on my father's shoulders (We'll forgo the stories of the trips to Sears that I thought would never end). I remember the fountain at the main entrance, and the blindingly beautiful chandeliers at Fink's, which was on the same corner. I stared with amazement at everything in the store as if it was a museum and every piece in there was a prized possession.... Needless to say, that fascination never went away.

Growing up near Charlotte, everyone drooled over the pieces that were in the Fink's Christmas catalog. We looked and dreamed and wished about every item that we saw... and (I can't believe I'm actually admitting this) even cut out pieces from the book and 'tried them on.' What better way for a little girl to play dress up, than with the most fabulous jewelry she's ever seen?!?

So now, a couple decades later, I get to work with those fabulous jewels daily. I love meeting new customers, and seeing loyal customers, who catch me up on the latest & greatest with their families and how they have grown over the years. It's a joy beyond words to have someone, whom you sold an engagement ring years ago, bring in their children to help select a 'prize' for their wife for Christmas.

The holidays are an amazing time for each of us. I look forward to the season, and am grateful for the opportunity to continue to grow in a company that has such a rich history of providing memories to so many.

Wishing everyone an amazing season - building new memories of your own,

~Claire Brown
Triangle Town Center

Catalog Season

We all have memories from childhood of holiday catalogs. Sitting and dog-earring pages, circling our carefully selected future gifts and hoping for the best after we turned it over to our parents, and maybe written a letter to Santa detailing our goodness over the past year.

This article in Jewelers Circular Keystone (or JCK as it’s known around these parts) goes into the methods behind the production madness of a holiday catalog. If you didn’t click the link, I’ll sum it up for you. Basically, a catalog is a great way for Fink’s to get in front of our customers while defining our brand, highlighting our key vendor collections and showing what we’re made of. Each of our buyers works with our vendor partners to choose merchandise that is relevant and of the latest style. In addition, Fink’s always tries to show pieces that you’ll only find here, like our Fink’s diamonds.

The Fink’s Jewelers holiday catalog is the biggest marketing project of the year. Our in-house ad agency, Marc Advertising is responsible for almost all aspects of the catalog. The process starts around June and doesn’t end until all 250,000 catalogs have been delivered to customer’s homes and are displayed in our stores in November.

There are two main aspects to the catalog: Prep and Production. Prep includes choosing the merchandise to feature, laying out pages, choosing a photographer, model and location and some color correcting and touching up photos where needed. Production is basically the execution of everything involved in prep. More details and a view of the catalog from a store’s perspective coming soon!

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to Fink’s Jewelers blog! Over there on the right sidebar is a brief history of Fink’s Jewelers. More information can be found on our website about our history, stores, vendors, events, jewelry care and quality and so much more! On top of that, many of our posts will give you an inside look at the jewelry industry from our corporate employees and a peek at our 14 stores through the eyes of our sales staff. You’ll also get the low down on Fink’s events and our publications via this site.

In addition to a blog, 2007 has brought a few other changes for Fink’s Jewelers. It all started in February with the grand opening of our second freestanding location in Forest, Virginia near Lynchburg. We refer to this location as Thomas Jefferson Crossings, or just Lynchburg. Per usual we gave away Fink's gift cards to the first customers there. And to celebrate further we even gave away a three stone Fink's diamond ring!

Then in May we moved our MacArthur Center location in Norfolk, Virginia within the mall. The new location is over 3,500 square feet!
This summer we closed our Crabtree Valley Mall location and chose to focus on the other three stores in the Raleigh, North Carolina area - Cary Towne Center, Triangle Town Center and The Streets at Southpoint. But we’re not done yet! Just this fall we opened a new store in Charlottesville, Virginia at Barracks Road!

In addition to stores opening, closing and moving, we've been busy with customer events in almost all our markets throughout the year and we’re just getting into the holiday season! Pictures and details will come soon, promise!