Shopping OC CHECK THEM OUT
By Bill Barlow
Find the new Payton Jewelry boutique at 952 Boardwalk.
TRENDS
PAY TO N J E W E L RY Payton Jewelry opens chic Boardwalk space
K
RISTI PAYTON grew up in Philadelphia but feels at home on the Boardwalk. She came to the shore every summer as a kid, hitting the beach in Ocean City and other seaside towns year after year. “I consider myself a local. I might be considered a shoobie here, but I’m a local,” she said in a recent interview at the new Payton Jewelry boutique at 952 Boardwalk, the newest location for her growing jewelry and lifestyle business. s She and her husband Sean design the pieces, which she said are made to go directly from the garden to a night out; jewelry to live in and layer. “It becomes part of you. They are pieces that you wear every day,” she said. Kristi said she would not offer anything for sale that she would not wear herself. “All of our jewelry is handmade in Doylestown,” she said. The business got its start about 13 years ago. “My husband and I started making jewelry when my daughter was born. I didn’t want to go back to work,” she said. “We’re both creative and artists in our own way.” Sean is a carpenter by trade. Kristi started selling handmade wooden items at craft shows and farmers’ markets throughout the area, offering wine bottle holders and other pieces. “I did every craft show from here to New York City. I’d
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do farmer’s markets. I loved it and I fed off the energy of the people,” Kristi said. She said Sean made her a wooden necklace that she wore every day. It would often get more attention than the items on display. “I’d get so many compliments. I said, ‘Make some more of those necklaces. I’m going to sell them,’” Kristi said. “And the jewelry business was born.” They would design and create the pieces at home. After about a decade of craft shows at the shore and beyond, Kristi and Sean opened their first brick and mortar location. With the first store open and a studio in Doylestown, they continued to expand with new locations, but last year decided to close two of the smaller stores. Described as the flagship store, Payton Jewelry has a location on State Street in Doylestown. They were able to offer curbside pickup at the downtown Doylestown location in 2020. “(Customers) could come right through the downtown and we could run the bag out to them,” she said. She had already worked to establish a web presence even before the pandemic brought more people to virtual options. “Our business online blew up,” she said. Still, she wanted a beach town location. “I’ve always wanted to open a store down here,” she said. “You never see a space like this open up.”
