Bling-bling's the thing

With a father who sold gems and a mother who designed jewelry using those stones, Lisa Garber was almost destined to carve a career in the jewelry business.

"I've been fascinated and seduced by gems since I was a little girl," Garber said.

Her business, Galicia Fine Jewelers, fuels that passion by allowing her to sell her designs directly to customers through a location at Sachi Salon in Scottsdale.

Garber said her retail-and-design focus - she wasn't attracted to the wholesale side of the business, she said, because she is too social - has paid off. InStore Magazine, a trade publication for jewelry stores, honored her earlier this year for personal sales of more than $1 million and for her fashion-forward designs.

The young woman began her career cultivating private clients from a small side office tucked away at her father's shop along Jewelers' Row in Manhattan.

"It really was a great start," Garber said. She also began studying for certification from the Gemological Institute of America.

The training and certification provides a thorough grounding in stones and cutting, allowing certified jewelers to not only select quality stones but help guide clients to the best stones and best values, Garber said.

Garber soon realized she had a yen to take her business in more of a retail direction. Her first move was asking a business-owner friend if she could hold a trunk show in her salon.

"It was very successful," Garber said. "It was about that time I began designing pieces of my own. I really loved working directly with customers, too."

She also loved working from salons, which gave her business an entree into a clientele ready to spend for themselves.

"It's a logical place," she said. "There are always women in the salons, and while they wait, they like to shop a little. Keeping my prices affordable means that they can invest in a piece for themselves or as little gifts for friends."

Garber specializes in glamorous designs, interchanging charms to change the look. She also carries jewelry by a number of designers with similar appeal.

By the time Garber and her family moved to Arizona in 1998, she had three stores within Manhattan salons. Selling them gave her the liquidity she needed to start again in Scottsdale.

She began - again - with trunk shows and soon developed a loyal client base. In 2001, she moved into the Sachi Salon.

"I love what I do," Garber said. "Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing a piece I've done go home with someone."

This story appears in the October issue of Arizona Woman. Pick up a free copy of the magazine at Safeway. For a complimentary subscription, sign up at arizonawoman.com.

Lisa Garber, designer and owner of Galicia Jewelers, shows her custom design jewelry at her store located on 4821 N. Scottsdale Road.