MAKING people feel comfortable in the presence of precious stones that are more expensive than a small car is one of the aims of the owners of Perth’s newest jewellery store.
Dee Taylor and Marie Georgiou will open their first jewellery store, Carbon: Chemistry of Diamonds, in Subiaco later this month and promise to offer something unique to Perth’s jewellery store market.
“It’s a small, boutique style store and we have designed it so that people can come in and feel comfortable,” Ms Georgiou said.
Ms Georgiou and Ms Taylor did not wish to pre-empt their opening night on November 27 by disclosing the look of the store, but they said it would have a minimalist approach.
They say the store will be stylish with a notable lack of showcases on the walls, and will include space for people to sit and discuss purchase options without being overseen by a sales assistant.
Together the women have more than 50 years of jewellery retail and buying experience and most recently worked together for a decade at Linneys.
Both felt they had reached the glass ceiling and, after a discussion with a notable Perth businesswoman, the pair decided to open their own jewellery store, with its focus on diamonds.
“We talked to a friend of ours, Patria Jafferies, and she said: ‘Think about what you want to do and when you’ve decided come back and see me’,” Ms Taylor said.
“We knew opening our own store was something we both wanted to do but we needed to be put on the road. In our heart of hearts I knew we could do it but I needed someone to ask how we proposed to do it.
“It is very important for someone to say: ‘You need a business plan and how are you going to put that into action?’ Patria really pushed that.”
The women spoke to other friends who had experience in the advertising and marketing industries and together they formulated the name Carbon: Chemistry of Diamonds.
The name carbon was chosen because it is the basic component of a diamond and also forms the backdrop to their simplistic sales and minimalistic store approach. Chemistry of Diamonds was added afterward to symbolise the chemistry between a couple and the symbolic importance of diamonds.
“We don’t want to be everything to everyone; we want to specialise,” Ms Georgiou said.
