Longtime Fort Collins jewelry store closes doors after 44 years
Susan Harrison didn't plan to be in the jewelry business, but perhaps it was always her destiny.
As a young girl, the longtime owner of Jewelry Emporium in Fort Collins would empty her mother's jewelry box, spread out its contents and rearrange the box.
As soon as she could drive, she got her first job at a jewelry store in Cinderella City, and, later, as a CSU student she went to work at the old May D&F, which randomly assigned her to the jewelry department.
On Saturday, Harrison retired, closing Jewelry Emporium for good after 44 years. She will continue to fulfill special orders and repairs through early March.
Harrison began her career at Jewelry Emporium as store manager in 1983, just as the store was opening and she was graduating from CSU with a degree in psychology. Over the ensuing years, she learned the business and eventually bought the store in 1990.
It moved around a little bit but always remained in the same general vicinity: from The Square in Midtown (now home to Trader Joe's) to the Foothills Fashion Mall at the invitation of then mall owner Bob Everitt. It jumped around mall property from The Shops at Foothills to its current location along College Avenue in 2015 after Alberta Development Properties purchased the mall, razed and rebuilt surrounding storefronts.
Harrrison, 66, said she chose to close the store rather than sell even though she had an interested buyer. "I didn't want to continue, and I would have had to continue on doing some pretty heavy training," she said, sitting in her store with a nearly depleted inventory.
Her lease expires in March, and mall owners McWhinney and Prism Places wanted her to sign a five-year lease. "If it had been a year or two, I might have done it," she said.
And, had she sold, she would have had top sign a noncompete agreement, which she didn't want to do, "just in case," she said. "You never know." She may eventually do some pop-up shows or trunk sales, maybe even become a personal jeweler.
"I love the industry. I'm just tired of the overhead and tired of the hours," she said.
Her husband, Richard, retired 10 years ago and, she said, now they can golf together in the winter at their second home in Scottsdale, Arizona. "He's been waiting for me to get on the bandwagon with him," she said.
Like many retail businesses, Jewelry Emporium has weathered a change in consumer habits. More big-box stores like Costco and Sam's Club sell jewelry, including diamonds. Fred Meyer Jewelers has a presence in some King Soopers and, of course, you can find anything on the Internet, "which changed things the most," she said.
Harrison traveled more than 20 times to Antwerp, Belgium, the diamond marketplace of the world, to buy her diamonds directly from the source, she said. "It gave me a competitive edge ... I like to say I did things the hard way."
She also did custom pieces, often transforming a family heirloom in to a modern piece of jewelry. "You kind of had to have an artsy-fartsy streak to enjoy the store," she said.
Harrison said she'll miss her customers who have stuck with her through the decades, helped her weather the COVID-19 shutdown and recessions. "I couldn't have done this without my loyal clientele ... even when dealing with two recessions, they carried me through."
One customer even sent a $100 check during COVID with a note saying she hoped it would help Harrison get through the shutdown. Help it did.
And when the shutdown ended, her customers were there. Sales for the past two years have been her strongest ever. "I think I picked the perfect time to retire. I'm going out on top."
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins' Jewelry Emporium closes down after 44 years
