Aug 27, 2011

Bauble Maker Charms Way into College Jewelry MarketBy Zlati MeyerFreeP.com

Royal Oak, MI – Two years ago while recovering from brain surgery, Royal Oak jeweler Dave Schowalter had a gem of an idea: Create beads representing colleges and sororities from around the U.S. that can be added to the popular Pandora and Troll bracelets.

Now, the son of an ex-Alaskan gold miner’s Collegiate Bead makes the small sterling-silver baubles for 114 schools and 25 sororities from Wayne State and Alpha Omicron Pi to the University of Michigan and Theta Phi Alpha. Schowalter, 52, sells approximately 65,000 hand-crafted beads annually — at $49 apiece.

The first year, the 11-person company brought in $1.5 million, but he expects to at least double that figure in the next 12 months, thanks in part to the company’s new spot on QVC’s Web site, he said. An expansion in the next two to six months will mean hiring as many as 50 people and he’s trying to buy a building elsewhere in Royal Oak to consolidate production from his store, the Miner’s Den, and two off-site locations.

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