As big-box competition grows, Janelle Mead bets on custom jewelry and personal service

Janelle Mead was just 24 when she purchased her first jewelry store, overseeing a staff of all men who were older — sometimes much older — than she was.

“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” Mead says. “It was intimidating, but it’s funny. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Mead is now owner of Harris Jewelers in Rio Rancho, and she and her husband also own John Thomas Jewelers in Albuquerque, as well as a quick-fix repair shop at Coronado Center.

Mead and her husband, John Thomas, recently returned from a diamond-buying trip to Antwerp, Belgium, as part of a rather exclusive membership in an international trade organization. They came back with 15 diamonds, hand-picked for eight clients who had pre-ordered the gems.

Mead fell into the jewelry business thanks to a part-time high school job at the now-closed Expressions in Gold.

“I knew nothing about jewelry and didn’t get a lot of training,” Mead says. “I was kind of pushed out into the showroom.”

She learned, though, by taking gemological classes and doing repairs, design work and “all of the things.” Eventually, the owners sold her the store and she assumed the role of business owner.

Mead in 2021 went on to buy Harris Jewelers, a longtime Rio Rancho staple that now has nine employees and that recorded over $3 million in sales last year.

As for her personal collection, Mead is a fan of rings and owns “20 or 30.” Her favorite stone? “Fancy-colored diamonds.”

She hopes to sell more of those with a remodeled bridal area, where couples-to-be can wander and try on whatever they want. “You don’t have to ask permission,” she says.

“I want to become the bridal destination for New Mexico.”

Why have you devoted your life to this business?

Every day, I look forward to coming to work. I get to play with jewelry. People are coming in for their special moments — babies, graduations, birthdays, engagements. Everybody is coming in for a really special moment, and you get to be a part of that and celebrate with them.

What’s your favorite part of the job?

I would say custom design. You’re helping create something that’s one of a kind, and our clients get to be involved all the way. First, we create the CAD (computer-aided design), which is the computer render or computer photograph. Then we print it in a wax. It’s one of a kind. We just created a dolphin wedding ring and a dolphin wedding band. We can really create anything.

What are the biggest problems facing your business?

A lot of the independent stores are closing. It’s true of retail in general, being pushed out by bigger corporate stores. That’s why it’s so huge to make it customized around your client. You can buy jewelry in a lot of stores. Why do you keep going back to this one particular store? For us, it’s because of the experience. We want you to feel welcome and comfortable and like you’re part of the family. That’s huge for us.

Tell me about your shopping trips to Antwerp.

Because of our membership in the Independent Jewelers Organization, we are invited to the oldest trading center in the world. They (the organization) are territorial. In Rio Rancho, they will only give one jeweler membership. We go twice a year. When we went the first time … we had come with our list and expected to see a few diamonds. But there were just hundreds and hundreds of diamonds. Eighty percent of the world’s diamonds are traded and cut there and dispersed throughout the world. So we literally get to pick them before they’re traded.

Are you worried about the trade tariffs on Belgium and elsewhere?

It’s going to affect things, but I think we’ll be OK. We get them from all over. We get them from Israel. It might dictate where we’re purchasing from, for sure.

What has been a difficult thing for you?

COVID was scary, for sure. We were thinking, who’s going to want to buy jewelry when you can’t buy a lot of the essentials? But our biggest competition is travel, and because people weren’t able to travel, they were still wanting to celebrate, to have anniversaries and celebrate special birthdays. So COVID was scary at first, but it turned into something that actually was pretty good for the jewelry industry as a whole.

Do you ever have unpleasant customers?

Of course. It’s retail. We try to kill them with kindness. Christmas is a little stressful, I think for everybody. People are trying to shop and get things done, and they’re stressed out. They’re coming in, and they want things quickly and they have to wait. That’s just the nature of shopping. We offer cookies, we offer drinks. We try to make them comfortable.

What do you worry about?

This is going to sound silly or a little corny, but I really do care about my team. I care about them and their families, so what keeps me up at night is helping them. I want this to be a forever job for them.

What do you wish you knew back when you started?

That challenges are OK. That we learn and we grow from them. Just like when I took over the store at 24. That was a huge challenge, and there were things I didn’t anticipate that were going to be coming my way. Some of them made me cry at night and knocked me to the floor. I can say at first it was hard, but now I’m so grateful for it. It’s helped turn me into a better person, a stronger person, and I think I’m a better business woman because of it.