Black River Diamond Company set to open
SHAWNA KONIECZNY
REPORTER
Opening in Medford soon is Black River Diamond Company, a full-service jewelry store. Jill and Brian Rouse, the owners of Black River Diamond, have been running their own jewelry store, Bay Area Diamond Company, in Green Bay since 2005. Jill and Brian have recently decided to expand their business endeavors to the Medford area.
Similar to its sister store in Green Bay, Black River Diamond Company will be focused on selling engagement rings and other diamonds, as well as having repair services. “We’ll have diamonds, diamond jewelry, engagement rings, colored jewelry,” said Jill. “Inexpensive fashion, watches, repairs, silver,” Brian added.
“Whether you’re getting engaged or you’re celebrating an occasion, if you’re having a birthday or anniversary, we’ll have gift options for absolutely everything,” said Jill. The idea of opening the store in Medford came after Jill’s brother moved to Medford about six months ago. Her sister- in-law, Jodie Vosters, suggested that they open a new branch of their jewelry store here in town. “We kind of laughed at first, but then we did some research and it seemed like this would be a great location. So we purchased the building here and started the process,” said Jill.
Black River Diamond Company is located on 753 E. Perkins St. and will be managed by Vosters. Jill said that Vosters has been at their Green Bay store training since early May.
Jill and Brian currently live in Green Bay, but have been traveling back and forth to help get everything ready for the store’s opening. They are currently working on the finishing touches to the store as the opening day fast approaches. They are planning to open on August 24 and after seeing how everything goes, they hope to have a grand opening event in October.
Brian has been in the diamond industry since before they opened their first store. “[Brian]’s been in the industry for almost 30 years. He had worked as a goldsmith, he used wholesale diamonds, helped open a concept store for Helzberg in the Chicago area, and then he was working at a store in Green Bay,” said Jill.
Jill used to work in IT within health insurance and has a Master of Business Administration degree. “Together, [Brian] and I make a really good team. He knows all the industry, he’s the extrovert, he knows the goldsmith side. I know all the business side, the behind the scenes. So I do all the accounting and the inventory and the payroll and finance and HR, all those things,” said Jill.
The opportunity for the two to open their own store arose when another jewelry store in Green Bay went bankrupt, so they decided to purchase the building and open Bay Area Diamond Company.
In the early stages of running Bay Area Diamond, they joined an industry group called Independent Jewelers Organization that helped the couple make connections and work with other stores and vendors to help them learn and grow in the industry.
With all that background on their side, Jill and Brian have successfully begun the process of opening Black River Diamond. Brian explained that they are in the organizing and cleaning stage of opening. They need to tidy up the interior of the business, as well as paint the outside of the building. They are also going to be landscaping around the exterior of the building. Then the last step will be to bring the jewelry over to the store and officially open up. Jill also added that they are still looking to hire another employee.
The pair is excited to be operating in the area and hope that they’ll be able to provide a service to the community. “Super excited to be in a small town because we’re both from small towns, grew up in small towns. We just love the atmosphere of the camaraderie and the knowing of everybody,” said Brian. “Reminds us of home.”
