Currently I have five employees in the retail store at the Foothills Mall in Tucson Arizona. Before I opened lease departments in JC Penney and Robinson May Stores. My business background goes way back to my childhood. When I was ten years old, my parents started selling wholesale Native American Indian Jewelry, mostly Zuni and Navajo, and some Hopi. We had a shop on Highway 66 where we employed s
ome of the best silversmiths in Gallup at the time.
4 years later, we went to Tucson to sell to a man who leased space inside Sears selling Indian Jewelry. To make a long story short, that man was pocketing cash sales and not reporting to the store's accounting department. So, management asked my parents to take over his space. So, that was the launch of our family business into the retail realm of our industry. From there, JC Penney asked us to move into their stores and within 5 years, my parents were in over 30 locations across the Southwestern United States. One of our favorite locations was set up in a courtyard within Old Town San Diego. We later left Old Town because the State had too many onerous regulations that were not small business friendly. Sadly, now that entire area that was once a thriving tourism venue is now a virtual ghost town. My parents retired a couple of years ago but I have worked independently for 17 years. However, because my parents were so well respected in our home town of Gallup, New Mexico, I continue to do business with 2nd and 3rd generation traders who manufacture the finest Native American jewelry in the world. I now have raised my family and I run my e-commerce business full time as well as operate my Foothills Mall store.
