Episode 67: Origin Stories

The Jewelry District

JCK

Fashion & Beauty, Business News, Business, Arts, News

9.9 • 25 Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2022

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In This EpisodeWe’ve collected the origin stories of some past guests—including that of host and news director Rob Bates—so you can hear the different ways in which people got their start in the industry. You'll hear from Alexander Lacik, Sean Kell, Alexis Padis, Gina Drosos, and Alan Revere.Show Notes00:30 Introducing this week’s podcast02:57 Alexander Lacik, CEO of Pandora06:14 Sean Kell, CEO of Blue Nile09:48 Alexis Padis, president of Padis Jewelry 13:50 Gina Drosos, CEO of Signet Jewelers17:44 Alan Revere, founder of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts22:40 Rob Bates, news director of JCKEpisode CreditsHosts: Rob Bates (https://www.jckonline.com/writer/rob-bates/) and Victoria Gomelsky (https://www.jckonline.com/writer/victoria-gomelsky/)Producer and engineer: Natalie ChometPlugs: jckonline.com (https://www.jckonline.com/), @jckmagazine, (https://www.instagram.com/jckmagazine/)Pandora Group (http://www.pandoragroup.com), Blue Nile (https://www.bluenile.com/), Padis Jewelers (https://www.padisgems.com/), Signet Jewelers (https://signetjewelers.com/), Alan Revere (http://www.revereacademy.com/), Rob Bates Author (https://robbatesauthor.com/) Show Recap(https://www.jckonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Alexander-Lacik.jpg)Alexander LacikBefore becoming CEO of Pandora, Alexander worked with a range of brands including Pringles, Vicks, Always, Olay, Pantene, Lysol, Woolite, Head & Shoulders, and more. After moving back to Sweden with his kids, he ended up working with Britax for a while before Pandora knocked on his door. He was excited to work with Pandora because it was a big Scandinavian international brand. Rob asks what the commonalities are between these successful brands.(https://www.jckonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Sean-Kell.jpg)Sean KellSean Kell, CEO of Blue Nile, came from a family who loved jewelry. He started as an engineer, then went into sales before going to business school to study marketing. He also worked at Starbucks, Expedia, and A Place for Mom before finally ending up in the jewelry industry. What attracted him to the industry in the first place: its size, and how it’s difficult for consumers to figure it out—he wants to change the industry to be a little more convenient for shoppers. Blue Nile originally operated solely on the web, but it has since opened brick-and-mortar stores to meet customers where they want to be met.(https://www.jckonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Alexis-Padis.jpg)Alexis PadisAlexis Padis is president of Padis Jewelry in San Francisco. She’s one of four kids, and she’s the only one who ended up joining the family business after spending time in an entirely different industry. She tells the story of how after selling an engagement ring to one couple she decided to make the industry here career. She also explains how her parents got into the industry. Her dad dropped out of medical school to become a jeweler, and met his Alexis’ mom in the industry.(https://www.jckonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Gina-Drosos.jpg)Gina DrososGina Drosos, CEO of Signet Jewelers, says she’s always wanted to work in an industry where she feels as though the product makes a difference in people’s lives.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Jewelry District, a podcast by JCP.
0:13.5	Today we have collected the origin stories of some past guests, so you can hear the
0:18.4	different ways people got their start in the industry, including
0:21.5	our own host and JCPay News Director Rob Bates.
0:29.5	Hey everyone, this is Rob Bates, news director of JCPK and JCPOnline.com.
0:36.3	Welcome to the Jewelry District. Unfortunately, my co-host, Victoria
0:40.4	Gimelski, the editor-in-chief of JCPay, is having a family emergency, and we wish her the best,
0:46.5	and she wasn't able to show up for this taping. So this is usually where her and I discuss
0:51.9	recent issues, and there's obviously tons to discuss. So it's unfortunate
0:56.4	we can't do it. But we decided to do something a little different and a little special and maybe
1:00.3	something that's a little lighter in some of these difficult times. Usually, as I'm sure,
1:06.0	regular listeners to the podcast know, when we have a guest, we will start off by asking how they got into
1:12.4	the business. And I actually find this a lot of fun because, you know, you get a variety of answers
1:17.8	and some are more businesslike than others, but you usually get an insight into the person and
1:23.5	into their background and into where they came from, that perhaps you wouldn't necessarily
1:29.1	get otherwise just knowing them as an industry figure or a public figure. You just learn a lot
1:34.9	about the person. And I think in just about every case, I've learned something new about the person
1:40.5	we're interviewing and where they came from. And, you know, a lot of times that kind of
1:44.5	informs how they act in their business life. So usually before we get to business and we talk
1:50.3	business and obviously is a business podcast, we are really interested in people's jewelry stories
1:55.7	because as many of you are aware, you know, not everybody decides to go into jewelry.
2:02.5	Kind of a lot of people just kind of fall into it.
	...

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