[AT WORK]
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Karla Brom >> When I was about 7 years old, I told my parents and grandparents that when I grew up I wanted to own a jewelry store and "rock" shop. And I've never veered from that path. First, I was a rockhound at heart who, with a partner, re-opened a tourmalinemine in Southern California in the late '60s. We were successful in finding gems and moved into opening the first of three California jewelry/mineral stores in 1972. Jewelry designer
Karla Brom started collecting
rocks at a young ageI learned to cut the gems and then naturally moved right into jewelry design from there.
I feel very lucky to have experienced gem mining, and still continue to travel around the world -- from Europe to Africa to South America and Asia -- for my rocks. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was buying and sorting sapphires into rainbow-colored suites in Bangkok for my store -- The Rainbow Collection.
I opened The Rainbow Collection in 1979 in the Ala Moana Center. Remember that store with the giant amethyst geode in the window near CenterStage? We've weathered the retail storms in Hawaii and had locations over the years in Hawaii Kai, Ward Warehouse, and even one in Tokyo. We're now back atAla Moana Center and enjoy a loyal client following.
I've managed to gather a great team of people who I love working with and appreciate their talents.
I also do a lot of custom jewelry design work, for clients here in Hawaii, the mainland and Japan. Each job is a special challenge and it is so rewarding when a special piece is finished and we present it to our client. We're very proud of the unique, quality work we do and thrive on the elated reactions we receive from our clients. That's what makes going to work each day so rewarding.
So, I guess I can honestly say I'm living my girlhood dream. Plus, I still love the "rocks" -- they fire up my soul.
At Work is a weekly feature that shows and tells what people do for a living in their own words. Send comments and submissions to: business@starbulletin.com