When I look at
a sunset, I see not only beauty, but also a design waiting to grace the finger or lapel of
some lovely lady. In the 70's and early 80's I was merely a jewelry addict - a lover of
pins and rings in particular. But in looking for realistically priced artistic designs in
yellow gold, especially those with colored stones, I was constantly frustrated with the
lack of imagination in fine jewelry design and especially the arrogance of custom
designers, who seemed to think that clowns, flowers, bugs and bizarre geometric designs
were all women wanted.
My frustration led me to work in clay to create my own pin designs, and then to jewelers
school where I could learn to commission my designs in yellow and white gold. Once a
jeweler, I realized that to many people, buying a piece of fine jewelry and buying a car
were similar experiences - they were not always getting all the information they needed,
and the pricing seemed almost mysterious.
Wanting to eliminate the mystery and offer stable, reasonable pricing, I established my
alter ego, Mrs. Gottrocks - a woman who treats all her customers like nieces and nephews,
looking out for them and making sure they get a fair, honest deal. The passion behind Mrs.
Gottrocks is finding beautiful, fairly priced designs to offer my shop and web patrons,
designing a signature line of jewelry due out in 2001, and making jewelry care and buying
information available to the general public.
In addition to this work, I have become very involved with the women entrepreneur movement
on the web, hosting a WomenBiz discussion group and moderating several others, and
founding and co-founding various online projects like WomenENT.com to assist women
entrepreneurs in co-operative advertising and marketing efforts. |
