Reflections of Nature Trends in Jewelry at Resort Area Stores

Whether vacationing by the sea, or close to rushing rivers and beautiful mountains, shoppers often seek jewelry items at resort area stores, and look for items that will represent the region or remind them of their time away from home.

At Mermaid’s Cove, located in the Pacific Beach area of San Diego, close to trendy bay front hotels, Tourmaline Surf Beach, and Sea World, the jewelry sold at Mermaids Cove, reflects the seaside location. According to Craig Ellsworth , who co-owns the shop with his wife Susan, its merchandise curator, “It’s hard to predict what will sell best now, because there are always inventory issues that come up. But right now, the Steven Douglas jewelry line and Zeelandia line both do very well for us. We do a lot of sea-inspired jewelry,” he related, “such as sea horses, octopi, and, of course, anything mermaid.” He noted that the store shies away from inexpensive imports such as rhinestone jewelry. “Really everything is seainspired because of our resort location, and the jewelry items we carry are themed that way, too.” Among the most popular items are a figurative mermaid sculptural necklace from Steven Douglas. “We work with higherend items with these designers, because you are paying for the name.”

Susan Ellsworth is the store’s buyer, and, according to Craig, “She travels to a variety of shows, and finds items online. It is a kind of a hybrid. The sea theme is the thing that we look for.” He added that “We promote our jewelry with in-store displays that Susan creates. We don’t use any manufacturers or makers displays for our jewelry or any other item.” Instead, he said, “We theme by subject – such as mermaid, or fish, in a central location in the store primarily. But we also mix and match jewelry items in display scenes with clothing and home décor.” As to social media, the shop doesn’t have a presence to boost sales yet, but the owners are considering a foray into TikTok.

In another California beach town, the charming and quaint resort destination of Cambria is located close to the popular Moonstone Beach. At Artifacts Gallery, Manager Shelley Woeste , said “Everything was carry is sterling silver, and the most popular is made with moonstone, because Moonstone Beach is right here.” The store’s jewelry is all hand-crafted, although not typically locally made.

According to Woeste, the shop originally found jewelry items at jewelry shows. “Now and during the pandemic, we find more online, but we have carried a lot of our jewelry companies for over 20 years, as well as bringing in new artists here and there. We are really looking mostly for things that are sterling silver set, and remarkable stones that highlight the jewelry itself. We have one shelf that is just silver, but most everything else has a stone in it. We do not carry any

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