Apr 12, 2008

Life-long loves turn lucrative for shop ownerBy Tanya SpencerTheSpectrum.com

Parowan – Nestled at the back of the Affordable Treasures antique shop in Parowan is Renee’s Place, a quaint, custom gemstone jewelry store and new and used book shop.

Owner Renee Knoblauch said the combination store was born of her great love for books and gemstones, both of which have been a life-long love affair.

“I’ve always been excited by books,” she said. “And the gemstones have always been a part of my life.”

Knoblauch’s father was a miner, as were her ancestors from Denmark. Even though her father always had gemstones around as she was growing up, jewelry making didn’t become a part of her life until about nine years ago when her father was dying from cancer.”It (jewelry making) came from trying to stay busy in a positive way,” she said.

She said one day she discovered she had completed 70 pieces of jewelry and calls each piece a labor of love.

She says her customers often tell her “I feel so good to wear your jewelry,” to which she replies, “It’s because it’s made with love.”

When she first offered her work for sale, she lived in Las Vegas.

“I just walked into the shop and asked if they would be interested and they were,” she said.

The shop took about 30 pieces and even though she was pleasantly surprised; she says that first night was an uneasy one.

“The first night I left my jewelry, I couldn’t sleep,” she says.

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