In Brooklyn, Jeweler Melissa Joy Manning Plays Adds Custom Options

Despite a tumultuous start to the year that included two daytime robberies at one of her stores, jewelry designer Melissa Joy Manning is moving forward with a collaborative design program for consumers.

With a something-for-everyone approach, the New York-based creative is playing up sustainability with “Minedfully,” an assortment of interactive product offerings — AllMine, NowMine, Mine, ReMine and BeMine. The do-it-yourself service will initially be offered in the company’s DUMBO store in Brooklyn.

AllMine allows shoppers to step up to a jewelry bar to design and build their necklaces or bracelets using recycled and responsibly-sourced pieces in the collection; NowMine gives them the option of collaboratively re-designing their heirloom jewelry; Mine offers them a custom, conscious design experience complete with an on-site welding service to permanently fasten on their final creations; ReMine is a proprietary consumer marketplace to buy and sell pre-owned Melissa Joy Manning jewelry; BeMine is a bridal-focused collaborative design service for rings with responsibly-sourced, precious stones.

Giving clients ownership of the designs is something that Manning has no qualms about, despite having spent more than two decades establishing a name for herself. “After 25 years, I get to design what I love and I’m really blessed. But I don’t have an ego around what I design anymore,” She said. “For me, it’s really fun to see how people wear it, what they pair it with and how they make it meaningful for themselves. Hence, the ‘Minedfully Making’ piece — we’re making something together and everyone feels a part of it.”

The initiative has added impact for her team, given the recent thefts and the professional and person ramifications from that. While retail theft is increasingly weighing on many retailers nationwide, the independent jewelry designer saw her Cobble Hill store in Brooklyn robbed twice in six weeks. There was $200,000 worth of jewelry stolen the first time and $50,000 worth of goods stolen the second time. The location now has an on-site security guard and New York Police Department routinely check in from time to time at that Court Street location, according to Manning.

As of last month, there had been at least 12 jewelry store thefts this year in New York City, according to the NYPD, which is seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspects for those crimes. A store employee was threatened during both robberies.

While that alone would rattle store employees and their coworkers, the company had shifted all of its operations to New York earlier in the year, due partially to an overnight theft in its Berkeley, California, store and studio, and the rash of robberies there.

“It’s exciting to have a bright spot in the future. Relocating all operations to New York and having had two break-ins during that transition has led to a lot of change for the team. We’re finally seeing this come to fruition, after it’s been in the works for so long,” Manning said. “It’s great to get to the point where we are on the other side, and are moving forward collectively with customers, who have supported us through this transition and who still want to be a part of the brand.”

The initiative, which offers items at an opening price point of $95, enables staffers “to embrace all of the new people, who come into the very fast-paced environment in DUMBO and have very different wants and tastes. This really allows them to make something that they want.”

“We have been seeing so many customization requests in our stores. Our more meaningful relationships involve working with customers more collaboratively. This allows them to come in and have a suite of choices and leave with a piece without waiting for a special order. That’s great for gifting or self purchases.”

Another sign of the DUMBO store’s inclusiveness is a stamping bar for children to stamp their initials on a necklace. The bar has different heights to accommodate not only adults, but also children and “people who are not standing,” Manning said. The design is meant to be reflective of the needs of its customers, an example of how the brand strives to create and deepen relationships with shoppers and “be with them as they grow in life,” Manning said.

An online version of the jewelry bar will be offered through new customer proprietary software development so that consumers can choose a chain, its length and stones, examine an image of their final design and purchase it to be shipped to their homes. Later in the year, fine jewelry components will be available.

The added services are timely, as the bridge market between costume jewelry and fine jewelry has become increasingly crowded, thanks partially to platforms like Etsy, Manning said. “I used to joke that in Williamsburg, you could throw a rock and hit a DJ, and now I feel like you can throw a rock and hit a jewelry designer. That is great because it means more design and innovation. But from a consumer perspective, it is so noisy that it is hard for them to differentiate between the messaging of a brand and what they’re looking for. It’s become relatively diluted.”

Giving shoppers the ability to come in and make something is a competitive advantage that also creates a relationship with them, since they will remember and talk about the experience after they leave the store, Manning said. “We’ve really seen a change. On the other side of COVID[-19], most of our consumers and the research that I have looked at [shows] people want to be participatory or some kind of experience,” Manning said.

Looking ahead, silver will be offered in the DUMBO store for the laser welder services, which are harder to do. That is meant to entice the stream of tourists who visit the store with a set price point in mind. “There are so many people who walk into our space who want us to mark their visit to New York,” Manning said. “We can allow them to do that at a price point that is affordable to them.”

To try to reel in shoppers in the months ahead, drops for limited-edition charms will be offered every couple of months (in addition to the standard stone offerings.) Melissa Joy Manning’s existing custom heirloom jewelry design business accounts for 20 to 40 percent of gross retail in the stores, she said. The extension of customization services will eventually include stocking stones with different settings so customers can choose a stone and a setting that can be picked up an hour later.

Reflecting on the rocky start to this year said, Manning said, “I’m not going to ‘Beetlejuice’ it, but we’re definitely hoping that we’re going to move forward in a positive and collective way.”