Look Book

40 | The Jewelr y Book Q: How do you stay updated and current on jewelry trends and market demands? CD: Honestly, a lot of it is asking client what they, or their partners like, seeing what they are wearing when they visit. Social media is sometimes a good predictors of trends. However, this may be more market based too, for example, we are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and not Paris or Los Angeles, for example; that is not to say we aren't stylish, but what the timeless classics here never go out of style and function and practicality tend to have greater importance that an elaborate piece might. Q: How do you manage your inventory to ensure the best curated selections to your customers? CD: Having a great CRM is wonderful, we are able to create wish lists and send them to their partners, and having a staff that is trained to ask a lot of open ended questions as well as show the full scope of our store to new clients so that they fully aware of our selection. A lot of our vendors use BIG, which analyzes our inventory and sales to see what sells quicker than other pieces. We will host trunk shows from time to time to share a broader range of a designer's work as well. It's always fun to learn about a member of our community of jewelers, especially one celebrating 125 years of service and tradition. L-R: Tom Dixon and his son Charlie Q: What do you do special for your customers? And what are you finding to be the best way to stay connected to your customers throughout the year? CD: I think our level of attention to detail goes a long way, from remembering spouses names, and birthdays, etc, which goes back to having a robust CRM is nice. Inviting them to various events or sharing news, even if it might not be something they explicitly expressed interest, but it just adds an additional touch point. We have various promotional items that we will give out sometimes, not aer a purchase, but if they happen to stop in or we may mail out if we haven't seen them in a while with a note. Q: How do you approach the shows to find new designs? CD: I think it is a combination of clients asking if we carry a certain designer or a certain style of jewelry, then we go out and make the connection. Or we look at any gaps we might have in our selection and try to find a designer that may fit that niche for our market. Furthermore, I personally like working with designers that are up-to-date in the digital age with assets that we can use to promote their lines, co-op budgets, etc. Q: What would you say was one of your most impactful successes in 2024? CD: is is year our 125th anniversary, so we've been really leaning into this and informing our clients of our family- owned and operated history which they've taken too. I think our clients enjoy this personalized aspect of interacting with us, and supporting a local, family-owned business that is a Milwaukee institution at this point, and want to be a part of this multi-generational story. We're about to unveil several pieces we've brought back to life from our archives in a new, store collection which will be exciting. schwanke-kasten.com Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers by Nicole Bromstad R E T A I L Q & A

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