Gemstone Treasure Chest – An Essential Part of My Jewelry Display
by Rena Klingenberg.
(Jewelry Making Journal)
Gemstone Treasure Chest
This treasure chest filled with tumbled gemstones is responsible for a lot of traffic to my jewelry booth. I offer everyone a free stone of their choosing, and people of all ages just LOVE to sift and dig through the chest to find the prettiest rock.
My original intention when I started using this treasure chest was to give children something to play with (other than my jewelry display!) while their adults shopped at my booth.
It does work very well for this purpose – especially if you have a small plastic cup in with the rocks, so children can dig and pour endless rock piles inside the chest.
But I’ve been surprised at how many adults – including grandparents – get right down on the floor and start digging for a rock when I invite them to choose their favorite!
It’s a good conversation-starter, and it builds goodwill with passersby – often turning them into customers.
One tip if you order tumbled stones and have them shipped to you:
They are quite heavy, so the shorter the distance between your stone source and your house, the less expensive shipping will be.
Comments:
treasure trove
by: FCS
I love this idea. I have found myself happily rummaging through just such a display. I still have the stones in a dish on my dresser.
How about a 2 ton treasure chest?
by: Jennifer
I’m a new subscriber to your newsletter and just came across this article. The success of your treasure chest in attracting customers reminded me of a store in Seattle called the Scratch Patch. They have not much else but a huge number of tumbled rocks, poured out on the floor for people of all ages to play in, sift through, and pick out stones. Here’s their website:
http://scratchpatchusa.com/
Just goes to show you, you never know when a crazy-sounding business idea will pay off!
I enjoy the publication! It’s very inspiring.
Gemstone Treasure Chest
by: Moon Goddess
I used to put a bowl of colored glass — the kind that are flat on one side and rounded on the other — and let kids have fun picking out a ‘gem.’ You are so right, the adults have just as much fun running their fingers through the bowl as the kids do. And it brings the adults to my table — they want to know what has fascinated their kids for so long! Great idea and I love the idea of the jewelry box. Very cool!
treasure chest
by: here today beadworks
gonna try it! Sounds great, will see what sort of stuff I can get locally to fill it. 🙂
Love it!
by: Amy
Wonderful idea -thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to try it out 🙂
Things to touch
by: Archipelago Jewelry
I usually use natural objects in my jewelry display such as shells, driftwood, or acorns. I may give a shell or acorn to a child that wants to touch the jewelry displays as an alternative. This usually keeps them satisfied so the adult has more relaxed time to look at my booth.
