Jeweler Profile
Fernbaugh’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry: Making every moment count
ESTABLISHED IN 1933 BY EARL AND GERALDINE FERNBAUGH, Fernbaugh’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry started out as a small jewelry repair shop in Logansport, IN. It eventually grew into a full jewelry store, with a repair shop in-house. The store changed ownership after the owner’s death; since 1982, the store has been owned and operated by Oris and Sally McGuire. Their son, Derek, daughter Lori VanDuyne, and son-in-law Brian VanDuyne bought the Logansport location in 2005 and opened a second, stylish Plymouth, IN, location at 206 North Michigan Street in 2006. While she grew up in jewelry retail, Lori also has a dental school background. Brian comes to the business after selling Mac tools. The couple has been married for 27 years, and they have adopted two boys: Chase, 14, and Noah, 8.
“We like to have fun in our store,” says Lori. “From the events that we run, to dressing up for holidays. We try to pass that feeling on to our customers as well. We like to help our customers celebrate the ‘moment’ in life that they are in. For instance, one of our favorite stories is about a 90-year-old young lady who came in to purchase a pair of diamond earrings to celebrate her birthday. We had such a great time with her, and wanted to celebrate the milestone with her, so we sent her a big bouquet of flowers for her special day!”
Fernbaugh’s promotes the notion that whatever stage in life a person may be at, or whatever a customer’s heart desires, Fernbaugh’s has a selection to inspire. They offer diamonds, colored stones, detailed gold, bridal sets, unique birthday gifts, anniversary bangles, add-a-pearls, and keepsake gifts for graduation, among their selection.
Currently, Brian says, their best-selling items are from the Rhythm of Love Collection, from Gemsone. “We ordered it in early,” he says, ‘and have been re-ordering since.”
Lori and Brian are active RJO members, attending both buying shows each year. “Our favorite part of the show is being able to get away for an adult trip,” says Lori. “We consider an adult trip being ‘no kids.’ We get to talk with other jewelers about business ideas, and we tend to find out that everyone has the same problems that we do, but they usually have a different solution to try. We also get great ideas from the classes, too.” More recently, the couple embarked on their first RJO-sponsored overseas buying trip. This past October they traveled to Antwerp.
“We were out to eat with our group in Antwerp, and decided to walk back,” says Lori. “We wanted to go to a bar called the Statue Bar. It ended up being closed, and we wandered around to the other side, and found a very small bar. We ended up joining a group of 20 Americans, including college students. A young college girl was the bartender. She played old American music for us, and she just loved having us there to make her Thursday night. We left having a great time; I’m sure they thought we were just crazy Americans.”
Back stateside, Fernbaugh’s looks forward to its successful Inventory Liquidation Sale. “We move old merchandise out of the store during this sale,” says Brian. “We send postcards out with Mail America, and customers come in to have the card scanned to see what dollar amount they will receive off of their purchase. They also can register to possibly win a $5,000 shopping spree. We use this to close out lines that we are not stocking anymore and to reduce slow-selling merchandise.” Fernbaugh’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry is located at 206 N. Michigan in Plymouth, IN. Phone: 866-681-1577. Website: www.fernbaughs.com
FAMILY. DIVIDEND. SUPPORT. BUYING POWER.