Specialty Retail: Jewelry

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Kevin Kelly: Your one-stop jeweler

When Kevin Kelly decided to open shop in a small strip center in north Peoria he put a sign out front and hoped that and word-of-mouth advertising would be enough to bring in customers and permit business growth.

It did, though in sort of a roundabout way.

Because of his solid reputation in jewelry repair, forged during nearly 40 years in the business working mostly for other jewelers, people came to his store at 7501 N. University St. to get bracelets, necklaces, watches and other pieces repaired. What they found was much more, as Kevin Kelly Jewelers is now a full-service jewelry store offering elegant jewelry, including pieces designed and created on-site.

"I would say we are a one-stop jewelry store. Anything a customer needs, they can get here. And customer service is what we value the most," said Dan Kelly, the son of owners Kevin and Maureen Kelly who manages the technology part of the business.

"We feel we are kind of a well-kept secret. The first time here for most people is when they come in to get something repaired. That makes sense since this store started as a wholesale repair shop. But once people see we're so much more, we hope they will keep coming back. "That's why we pride ourselves on customer service. We think we give as good of customer service as any that's out there. We give the customer what they want when they come in the door, whether it's getting something repaired or something for a wedding anniversary. We want people to have a positive experience when they come here. We go the extra step to get them back," Dan Kelly said.

Besides turning the store into a full-service jeweler, Kevin Kelly said his boldest move was to bring in jewelry designer Melissa Barnhill and letting her create designs that have since become some of the prototypes used by a jewelry design software company. In fact, she was second in the nation in terms of sales using that software. "We believe our designs are good as anyone's out there," Kelly said.

Barnhill came to Kevin Kelly Jewelers more than seven years ago after working retail for a jewelry store chain. With a growing family, she needed to change because the hours she was expected to work at that mall-based store "were a killer. I had to do something to change that, but I didn't want to leave the jewelry business."

In Kevin Kelly she found an employer willing to let her learn to design, something she'd wanted to do at the chain store. "I would open the boxes the company sent to all the stores and while putting them in the display cases I would think, 'I can do better than that.' I'm now getting that chance," she said.

Another positive move for the store was the return of Dan Kelly to the family business. A Certified Public Accountant, it was never his intention to do so until about two years ago. He went to work for a large accounting firm in Cincinnati after graduating from Notre Dame University but returned to Peoria after getting a job at Caterpillar.

He originally wanted to earn a Ph.D. and become a college professor. "That plan is on life support. But I am teaching accounting on a part-time basis at (Illinois Central College)," he said.

At the family business, where Dad handles jewelry repair with Mom in charge of sales, "I get to see business from a different perspective and how the economy affects the whole spectrum. I am probably the only CPA who works in a jewelry store but it is a good experience. We're like everybody else in retail. We're selling a product. We can find something to fit anyone's budget and we have a layaway program because we recognize not everybody has ready cash in the amount of a ring or nice piece of jewelry."

He's confident about the future. "The recession certainly affected us but we did experience some growth during that period, as well. One good thing for Peoria is that consumer confidence never really bottomed out and in the jewelry business, like with other big-ticket retail items, consumer confidence is important," he said.

"I think we're in good shape here. We're looking forward to the future."

KEVIN KELLY JEWELERS
7501 N. University St., Suite 14, Peoria
(309) 689-0201
www.kkj.webdesignpeoria.com
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday. Evening appointments available.

Kevin Kelly Jewelers is a family-owned jewelry retailer specializing in jewelry repair services and elegant fine jewelry merchandise.

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