Jewelry
by Windy—Age 37—Phoenix, AZ
As I packed my new scarf and gloves for this week’s trip to New York I thought back to how I got here. Ten years ago I got a job at Nordstrom in the jewelry department. I lived in Spokane, Washington, five hours away from Seattle and the only major city on the way to Idaho or Montana.
My department manager wanted a trunk show (where a jewelry designer sends a rep to a store with a box of merchandise to hand-sell for the day) but our store was located fairly far off the map and no designers were willing to come. I was approached with an idea: call a few designers and ask if they would hire me for a day. They could send me a box of merchandise and I would do the selling and paperwork and then mail it back. I also had to sell this idea to the Nordstrom buying office since they would be getting the bill for all the jewelry sold.
My first trunk show was for an antique pin company. I only sold two pieces, but when I called the next company I was able to tell them I had prior experience. I grew my client list to five designers who scheduled three to five shows per year.
Then my husband got a transfer to Phoenix, AZ. I talked to the designer I worked for most often and let her know about my change. The response was wonderful. She wanted me to be her Phoenix rep. I had only been in town for three days when I hit the freeway looking for the local Nordstrom store. The work evolved into me opening up new retail accounts in my area and traveling to shows with the designer herself.
Later that year I was invited to go to New York and work at the designer’s booth during the national sales show. I couldn’t believe it! I was going to New York! I got to meet buyers from all over the country and live off an expense account. It was amazing.
After a few years I left the jewelry business for another career but thankfully I am always asked to come back and work at the NY show with the team. It’s great to see everyone and live that life for one week a year.
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