A FAMILY TRADITION
Woven through the glittering beauty of
diamonds and gemstones at Kari’s Diamonds
is a family history of service and quality in
the jewelry business that goes back more
than 150 years.
Kari Stookey, owner of the specialty jewelry
store, as well as Kari’s Bridal,
has been in the jewelry business since she
was 14 years old. Her parents own a jewelry
store in Topeka, but the family’s business
acumen reaches back to the 1800s
when her great-great-grandfather,
Isaac Hirsh, began working as a
peddler in Chicago, selling goods
from the back of a wagon.
Isaac eventually opened several
stores in Missouri. A Livingston
County history account said of him,
“Mr. Hirsch not only has an extensive
acquaintance in this county, but doubtless
is better known personally throughout North
Missouri than any man in it. He is the possessor
of large means, a careful and painstaking buyer,
and alive to every detail of business life, driving
his own business rather than let it push him.”
The stories about her great-great-grandfather inspire Kari to bring the same
attitude to her business that he did almost
a century ago.
“He was a businessman who really cared
about people, he was helpful and went out
of his way to make sure that he was giving
back to the community,” she said. Her great-grandparents, too, were entrepreneurs and
owned a Chicago jewelry store for years.
Being raised around successful
entrepreneurs allowed Kari to understand
what it takes to run a business that meets
customer needs by offering outstanding
service. It’s not just about beautiful jewelry –
although that is, of course, a critical component
of her work. It’s understanding that she is
selling more than rings, necklaces or earrings.
“I love the fact that we’re celebrating
moments in people’s lives that reflect the love
and events that are life-changing,” she said. “The jewelry we make will be passed
down and given to children and then their
children’s children. It’s an honor to be part of
someone’s family history.”
The skills that Kari and her staff bring
to the jewelry business allow those
special family pieces to be one of a
kind, and it’s challenging and exciting to
bring to life a design that has lived in a
customer’s imagination.
“We have state-of-the-art equipment,
including a Computer-Aided Design program
called CounterSketch Studio, that brings
designs to life in 3D on a video screen,” Kari
said. “We can actually put the ring on a hand
that’s the actual size of the customer’s hand
so he or she can see what it’s going to look
like. I love the creativity.”
The store can even offer the option of
creating a prototype of the piece that, for a small fee, will allow customers to see exactly
what the piece will look like before finalizing
the design.
“If you can think of it, we can create it,”
Kari said. “We can tweak it and change it. It
allows the customer to become the designer,
which is really cool.”
Being able to customize jewelry is a trend in her industry,
Kari added because people
want to create something
that no one else has. It’s where
the business motto – “Our
difference is you” – was born.
“There needs to be a difference in
what you do, in the end product, so we
bring our experience and our tools to deliver
that very special custom product,” she said.
Store employees all are skilled at
helping customers narrow down their
choices in everything from gemstone to
the color of the gold used in the design.
White gold has been popular for some
years, Kari said, as part of a trend toward
vintage designs. But yellow gold is making
a comeback and the soft shades of rose
gold also are growing in popularity.
Diamonds, of course, remain the most
popular center stone of choice for most customers, but
diamonds in the different color spectrums
are being used in many designs, Kari said.
While Kari and her experienced staff love
to spend their days dabbling in fine jewels, Kari
also makes it a business
focus to give back to the
community. Learning a lesson
from her great-grandfather and the generations
in between, Kari feels a responsibility to make a
difference where she does business.
From supporting community gardens
that help feed people to giveaways that raise
funds for local non-profits, Kari’s Diamonds,
along with her other two businesses, reach
out to Emporia.
“I think that’s what’s makes the business
thrive,” she said. “It’s stewardship and that’s
important. If there’s a gift in what my great-great-grandfather brought to business, to
me, it’s the understanding that it’s so much
more rewarding to give than it is to receive.
That’s the truth.”
