Interview with Julio Benez, owner of artisan LA Jewelry, one of the best
Jewelry in Los Feliz.
Interview conducted by Keith
Kurlander
Describe your business.
We are a local jewelry business and that specializes in custom orders, we do a lot of them and we sell our original jewelry to other stores.
What made you decide to open this business?
I was a sculptor for a long time, since I was a kid and I collected gemstones, so I always had a fascination for gemstones and jewelry. As an adult, I was making jewelry in my spare time for fun and after years of trying to do something that would just make me money, I finally realized that I should go for the fun, so I started my new jewelry store, Artisan LA, in Los Feliz.
What would your customers say they love most about your business?
They like how I make them unique for them. They like how I can take the old world style and combine that with a contemporary style to make something that could be looking nice and romantic at same time
Do you have any exciting plans for the future that you want customers to know about?
Yes I'm very excited about creating several lines of my own and selling them to other stores. I'm also very excited because I've started designing on my own 3D printer. It in one of the technologies that makes it much easier for a jeweler to use, I used to have a guy that would translate multiple drawings on paper and put them all together to create a 3D composite so we'd have lots of hands in the pot. I have my own 3-D scanner and printer I have more control off of the design process and things are speeding up.It used to take two to three years to create a line, now it takes six months. A custom ring that used to take around six months now can be done in two to three weeks.
There are a lot of artists, musicians and actors living in the neighborhood and they're shooting a commercial two doors down how does that make this neighborhood unique.
It's exciting and I don't think I would be able to place my jewelry in movies and TV shows if I didn't live here. I have lots of customers who are stars but for me they're just normal people, this is after all, Hollywood.
Do you have any advice that you want to share with other entrepreneurs?
I would tell them be patient and passionate, things are going to happen that we have very little control over but be passionate, that's the most important feature.
What do you love about this neighborhood?
It's safe, multicultural and is very friendly compared to the neighborhoods I've been in before.It's feels like a small village instead of a big city you know everybody is very connected and they're warm and friendly.
What are your favorite things to do in the neighborhood?
I like to walk around and see people on the street, I like to see shops, I like to talk to the locals when they pass by, I like to go see my fellow business owner's, they're all friends and like I said this a small town.
Why do you think it's important for people to shop local?
First of all this because you can control the quality you can get, if you shop online sometimes you don't get a response after you buy it and you don't get the same customers a second time. When you put your money in the local neighborhood that money is going to come back to you