the blog of jewelry designer

May 27, 2015

Sweet Memories of My Jewelry Career in Dallas

Dallas has been home for my entire adult life. I went to college in Dallas, at SMU. And not too long after, I started my business here at the age of twenty-four. It began in my humble $450/month, all-bills-paid apartment in Preston Hollow. Those apartments don’t even exist anymore, but I can still remember moving my sofa out to make room for my first employee. We worked together in the living room for a year before I finally leased my first office space in the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff.
 
That was 1999, at the dawn of the Bishop Arts' revitalization. That same year, Neiman Marcus picked up my collection. I thought life couldn't get any better.

My first office is now a restaurant, Café Veracruz

Earrings from the collection I was selling at that time,
 now we call it our Vintage Collection


In 2002, I leased a warehouse-style space on Monitor Street, north of the Design District, and hired my first sales person. Then I hired another. And another.

That office is now a gallery (pictured below). And they still have the security bars that I had installed!


We were in that space for five years before relocating in 2007 to our current showroom overlooking Turtle Creek. That’s when I launched my first 18k yellow gold collection, followed a few years later by my first semi-precious silver collection.

Turtle Creek in Dallas

Our showroom overlooking Turtle Creek

I live in Fort Worth now.  I bought my first house in Dallas in 2007, and had great fun making it my own style and giving dinner parties there.  I sold my house in Dallas and moved west in October of 2013, see my blog post here.  



These past couple of years, I've kept my business and showroom on Turtle Creek, and I’ve been commuting, sometimes spending the night in Dallas to make the transition a little easier.

Now, after a lot of thought, I've decided to relocate my business at last. We are moving in two weeks!


“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining where we are.”

- Oprah


I can hardly believe it. I’m sad to be leaving Dallas, but I’m excited about finally jumping in with both feet, and truly living and working in Fort Worth.

Many of you know that I grew up in the small town of Hillsboro. After that upbringing, in many ways Fort Worth seems like a perfect fit. It has a calm, small town feel—as much, anyway, as any city with nearly 800,000 people could. The city is absolutely filled with incredible things to see and do. I’ve fallen in love with its energy and spirit. And I get the best of all worlds—the small town feel and the big city adventure. I’m excited, and, you know, life is good.


Elizabeth Showers' earrings from past to present

Looking back at every phase of my life and business, I can also trace the trajectory of my evolving style, tastes, and skills. A focus on vintage, then stones, learning about metals, gold, silver. Learning about myself and what I could do, where my own creativity could take me. Every new place and experience has informed and deepened my work in a way that now seems like a critical part of my artistic development.

I know this new phase and locale will have the same effect. Every time I take a leap, I’m rewarded. I hope you’ll continue to follow me as I make this one.

Stay tuned for details on another major leap in my life! (hint: Molly from A Piece of Toast leaked it here!)




“Every day is a journey, and the journey
itself is home.”

- Matsuo Basho


Feel Beautiful,
Elizabeth