JAMIE PARTON
Owner, Lapidary & repair, Jewelry Design, Wire-Wrapping, Bookkeeping/Quickbooks, Rock Fanatic
Jamie has been with Nature's Jewels for 15+ years and is now sharing in the success of the business. Her goal is to help the store continue to grow for many years to come, and to allow Joe and Bobbie some play time. She tag-teams with her wife, Elaine Enriquez, our Metalsmith in jewelry design and prepares the stones for custom pieces. She has a creative side that loves to "listen" to what the stones want to be. Nature's Jewels has now become her life's passion.
Words from Bobbie: "Jamie was working at a local store but needed something that was more ‘kid friendly’ because she wanted a bigger part in her eight-year-old daughter’s life. Family comes first in our store so we looked around to see what we could do to make this work for all of us. We had recently expanded into the adjoining unit and discovered we had just the right spot -- THE ROOM. We pooled our resources and created a playroom for Kelli’s two, Jamie’s one, and their friends. Thank goodness we did. Jamie and her family have been pivotal in NJ becoming what it is today. Her knowledge has grown beyond our wildest dreams. She has an artistic flair that blows my mind. I envy her ability to look at a chunk of rock then turn it into a piece of art. We are so proud she found us! Just like all our other employees, Jamie started as our cleaner/salesclerk. Since then, she has grown to a fine artist in both lapidary and silversmithing, became store manager when Kelli had to move on, and is now our partner."
Owner, Lapidary & repair, Jewelry Design, Wire-Wrapping, Bookkeeping/Quickbooks, Rock Fanatic
Jamie has been with Nature's Jewels for 15+ years and is now sharing in the success of the business. Her goal is to help the store continue to grow for many years to come, and to allow Joe and Bobbie some play time. She tag-teams with her wife, Elaine Enriquez, our Metalsmith in jewelry design and prepares the stones for custom pieces. She has a creative side that loves to "listen" to what the stones want to be. Nature's Jewels has now become her life's passion.
Words from Bobbie: "Jamie was working at a local store but needed something that was more ‘kid friendly’ because she wanted a bigger part in her eight-year-old daughter’s life. Family comes first in our store so we looked around to see what we could do to make this work for all of us. We had recently expanded into the adjoining unit and discovered we had just the right spot -- THE ROOM. We pooled our resources and created a playroom for Kelli’s two, Jamie’s one, and their friends. Thank goodness we did. Jamie and her family have been pivotal in NJ becoming what it is today. Her knowledge has grown beyond our wildest dreams. She has an artistic flair that blows my mind. I envy her ability to look at a chunk of rock then turn it into a piece of art. We are so proud she found us! Just like all our other employees, Jamie started as our cleaner/salesclerk. Since then, she has grown to a fine artist in both lapidary and silversmithing, became store manager when Kelli had to move on, and is now our partner."
ELAINE ENRIQUEZ
Owner, Metalsmith and Lapidary, Torch and Electronic Arch Soldering, Wire-Wrapping, Equipment service & repair, Bookkeeping/Quickbooks
With a background in welding, silver/goldsmithing and jewelry design became one of her favorite passions. She has her hand in every aspect of the business and has become a key role in the success of Nature's Jewels over the last 12+years.
Words from Bobbie: "Elaine has been an absolute blessing. She is a self taught Silver/Goldsmith. Some might say welding is welding but I personally believe there’s a significant difference between welding a fender on a car repair job and soldering silver/gold to create a piece of jewelry. Elaine prefers to work in Joe’s World when she’s not tapping on metal upstairs. Next time you’re in the store, you’ll probably hear her hammering away, working on her next creation. She has earned our trust and respect far above anything we could have expected."
Owner, Metalsmith and Lapidary, Torch and Electronic Arch Soldering, Wire-Wrapping, Equipment service & repair, Bookkeeping/Quickbooks
With a background in welding, silver/goldsmithing and jewelry design became one of her favorite passions. She has her hand in every aspect of the business and has become a key role in the success of Nature's Jewels over the last 12+years.
Words from Bobbie: "Elaine has been an absolute blessing. She is a self taught Silver/Goldsmith. Some might say welding is welding but I personally believe there’s a significant difference between welding a fender on a car repair job and soldering silver/gold to create a piece of jewelry. Elaine prefers to work in Joe’s World when she’s not tapping on metal upstairs. Next time you’re in the store, you’ll probably hear her hammering away, working on her next creation. She has earned our trust and respect far above anything we could have expected."
BARBI
Lapidary & repair, Salesperson, Inventory Organization, co-Manager
Barbi always has a smile on her face and it's obvious she loves what she does. Self-driven and motivated, a lot gets done when she's around! Where would we be without her??
Words from Bobbie: "Barbi joined us just hours after we put the sign on the door. How this happened we don’t understand, but we are truly grateful. She is the most enthusiastic of us all! She keeps us balanced - and she knows where everything is! Her first task after coming onboard was to make sense of our inventory. Barbie’s a miracle worker. She took the biggest mess I've ever seen and created organization from chaos. We didn’t know we had 42 angels until she found them all - in five places."
We are so glad she is one of us now.
Lapidary & repair, Salesperson, Inventory Organization, co-Manager
Barbi always has a smile on her face and it's obvious she loves what she does. Self-driven and motivated, a lot gets done when she's around! Where would we be without her??
Words from Bobbie: "Barbi joined us just hours after we put the sign on the door. How this happened we don’t understand, but we are truly grateful. She is the most enthusiastic of us all! She keeps us balanced - and she knows where everything is! Her first task after coming onboard was to make sense of our inventory. Barbie’s a miracle worker. She took the biggest mess I've ever seen and created organization from chaos. We didn’t know we had 42 angels until she found them all - in five places."
We are so glad she is one of us now.
JAISA
Supervisor, Salesperson, co-Manager, Admin, Wire-wrapping, Beading, Online Store Marketing
Jamie's daughter, Jaisa, has grown up in the shop and learned everything she knows about rocks from Joe, and being able to play with them. She is a lifelong rockhound and loves the shop! She has become quite the book of knowledge in regards to stones, from geology to the metaphysical properties. Wire-wrapping jewelry, making necklaces and pendants are some of her creative contributions to the store. Recently, she has begun to learn the legal side of the business, learning Quickbooks, and learning the process of the office. She has truly become an asset to the family business.
Supervisor, Salesperson, co-Manager, Admin, Wire-wrapping, Beading, Online Store Marketing
Jamie's daughter, Jaisa, has grown up in the shop and learned everything she knows about rocks from Joe, and being able to play with them. She is a lifelong rockhound and loves the shop! She has become quite the book of knowledge in regards to stones, from geology to the metaphysical properties. Wire-wrapping jewelry, making necklaces and pendants are some of her creative contributions to the store. Recently, she has begun to learn the legal side of the business, learning Quickbooks, and learning the process of the office. She has truly become an asset to the family business.
The Amazing Folks Who Started It All...
JOE TURNBOW
Founder aka Big Guy, Dad/Grandpa, PackHorse, Papa Bear, Lapidary (cut & polish stones)
JT, DJ (short for DamnItJoe), and many more...
Phrases he hears most often: I bet you've never seen anything like this before. Did I find gold? and Go to work in the BACK (quit helping)!
Joe has poured his heart and soul into educating others, especially kids, about geology. Playing with rocks is one of his favorite activities, and Nature's Jewels has blossomed well because of his passion for Mother Earth's treasures.
Founder aka Big Guy, Dad/Grandpa, PackHorse, Papa Bear, Lapidary (cut & polish stones)
JT, DJ (short for DamnItJoe), and many more...
Phrases he hears most often: I bet you've never seen anything like this before. Did I find gold? and Go to work in the BACK (quit helping)!
Joe has poured his heart and soul into educating others, especially kids, about geology. Playing with rocks is one of his favorite activities, and Nature's Jewels has blossomed well because of his passion for Mother Earth's treasures.
BOBBIE TURNBOW
Joe's BOSS, Mom/Grandma, The Go-To, Mama Bear
Phrases she hears most often: Can we buy more? Oh I forgot to tell you that we're out! and Joe's desperate call, BOBBIE!!!
Bobbie has dedicated her life to making sure Joe's passion for rocks stays strong which means she got stuck with all the icky paperwork and legal stuff. She has followed Joe on many adventures into the wild and around the world, and will continue to do so every day. Without Bobbie, Nature's Jewels would not be here today.
Joe's BOSS, Mom/Grandma, The Go-To, Mama Bear
Phrases she hears most often: Can we buy more? Oh I forgot to tell you that we're out! and Joe's desperate call, BOBBIE!!!
Bobbie has dedicated her life to making sure Joe's passion for rocks stays strong which means she got stuck with all the icky paperwork and legal stuff. She has followed Joe on many adventures into the wild and around the world, and will continue to do so every day. Without Bobbie, Nature's Jewels would not be here today.
Lives that helped us along the way...
LEE
Joe and Bobbie's daughter, Lee, was the FIRST employee/store manager we had. Without her willingness to step in and cover the store, while we each worked our day jobs to support this fledgling adventure, it would never have flown. Lee took care of EVERYTHING, customer service, ordering, stocking, cleaning, and she even managed to practice some lapidary art by working cabochons for the shop. Without Lee, we would never have been able to build NJ into what we have today. She had to take a few years off because of health issues, but was able to come back and help us after our last expansion. Lee has now moved on to other adventures in her life. We will always be proud of what she helped us build. Without her willingness to pitch in, we wouldn’t be what we are today.
Meanwhile our store began to grow.
Joe and Bobbie's daughter, Lee, was the FIRST employee/store manager we had. Without her willingness to step in and cover the store, while we each worked our day jobs to support this fledgling adventure, it would never have flown. Lee took care of EVERYTHING, customer service, ordering, stocking, cleaning, and she even managed to practice some lapidary art by working cabochons for the shop. Without Lee, we would never have been able to build NJ into what we have today. She had to take a few years off because of health issues, but was able to come back and help us after our last expansion. Lee has now moved on to other adventures in her life. We will always be proud of what she helped us build. Without her willingness to pitch in, we wouldn’t be what we are today.
Meanwhile our store began to grow.
KELLI
Kelli came into our lives in a very haphazard way. Her husband was deployed, she had two young girls that could run circles around all of us, her Mom, a malamute that was big enough for a horse, a ferret, two cats, and an aquarium. Our shop was a quiet haven from all the responsibilities resting on her shoulders. At first, Kelli just browsed the store and visited with her special stones. Then it progressed to, ‘let me help you dust’ when Heather’s pregnancy began to be uncomfortable. When we saw how much work she was doing for us, we thought we better get her on the payroll! Kelli grew from a customer, to an unofficial duster, to an entry level employee, and finally into our manager. Kelli’s only flaw was her inability to be on time - - for anything. This was easily offset by her ability to look at the store and our customers, see what was needed, and make it happen. Her husband came home finally, then Andrew came along, and then they got orders for Louisiana. Darn, we had to say goodbye again!
By now we had enough business to afford two employees!
Kelli came into our lives in a very haphazard way. Her husband was deployed, she had two young girls that could run circles around all of us, her Mom, a malamute that was big enough for a horse, a ferret, two cats, and an aquarium. Our shop was a quiet haven from all the responsibilities resting on her shoulders. At first, Kelli just browsed the store and visited with her special stones. Then it progressed to, ‘let me help you dust’ when Heather’s pregnancy began to be uncomfortable. When we saw how much work she was doing for us, we thought we better get her on the payroll! Kelli grew from a customer, to an unofficial duster, to an entry level employee, and finally into our manager. Kelli’s only flaw was her inability to be on time - - for anything. This was easily offset by her ability to look at the store and our customers, see what was needed, and make it happen. Her husband came home finally, then Andrew came along, and then they got orders for Louisiana. Darn, we had to say goodbye again!
By now we had enough business to afford two employees!
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Moss
Moss was an integral part of the store for not nearly long enough! Their talent in shaping stones into hearts and their gentle touch on the lapidary wheel, as well as their humor and amazing personality (and fun hair and earrings!!) helped give the store the open, loving vibe it has today. Their skill in making wearable art, suncatchers, and macrame pendants are absolutely incredible! <3 They've moved on to run their own small business, Broken Moon Creations, and we couldn't be happier for them! (But also, we miss our Mossy hugs and headpats!) |