Borderland Jewelry marked a quarter century of business in the Falls in April.
The business will conduct a two-day anniversary event from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 9 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 10 at its 324 Third Street location.
Representatives from the businesses’ diamond distributors will be present.
Owner Rob Trompeter said he is pleased with the growth and expansion of his business, but more that, he has been able to succeed in doing something he loves and in his hometown.
“We have really developed a great, great group of customers and friends,” said Trompeter. “Now I am selling engagement rings to children of parents that I sold wedding rings to 25 years ago.
“I’ve lived here my entire life and its just fun to be a part of this community,” he added.
Borderland Jewelry’s humble beginnings started with Trompeter’s home jewelry repair service. He studied gems and learned the art of business while working as a pipe fitter and maintenance supervisor at Boise.
Trompeter opened the first Borderland Jewelry in Shannon Square on April 2, 1983. He smiled as he recalled purchasing the inventory from another northland jewelry store that went out of business. He spent the winter getting everything ready and was selling items right out of the boxes on opening day.
“We opened on time, though,” said Trumpeter. “I still have some of those display cases in my garage.”
With his knowledge and skills, Trompeter found a local market niche in several areas. He completed gemology school and can make gemological appraisals and offer advice. He can repair jewelry and has clients sending items from all over the country. As a goldsmith, he can make custom jewelry.
“We take a lot of old product and make it into brand new things for people,” he said.
Trompeter belongs to several jewelers associations and he served on the board and as president of the Minnesota Jewelers Association for 12 years. Members sign a code of ethics and hold workshops to educate one another on the latest issues.
“As a jeweler, I would not operate without belonging to Minnesota Jewelers Association,” he said.
Borderland Jewelry outgrew its space and moved into the International Falls Mall in 1986. When adjacent space became available, the business expanded the store to include The Finery, a distinctive kitchen and home business.
Trompeter’s daughter, Beth Shermoen runs The Finery and works with the non-jewelry items. She specializes in gift baskets, engraved crystal, centerpieces, candles and specialty wrapping.
“We are pretty lucky to be involved in peoples’ life celebrations,” said Shermoen.
Shermoen said she has learned wrapping and materials technique through traveling shows and a creative staff that comes up with good ideas on their own.
“You can buy a lot of beautiful gifts in a lot of different places but presentation really captures an image,” she said. “We have an image that we want to present to the community. We want them to say that they are proud of what they bought at The Finery or Borderland Jewelry.”
The store returned downtown to its present address in April 2004. Trompeter recalled renovating the former appliance store and then having to move the huge inventory from the mall to downtown in one day. He hired the Falls High School football team to move the vaults and display cases.
“They came with their parents and trucks and in four hours they moved the entire store,” he said.
A jewelry store sells items that people do not need to buy — that is what Trompeter likes about the special items that mark every special event of life, from birth to the grave. He says his customers trust him because he can explain the size, clarity, color, cut and make of a gem and know its market value.
“People want to know the fair value and that it is what it is — and not something else,” he added. “It is a pride in knowing what we know and sharing that with people.”
When asked whether Falls residents have any special wants or needs, he holds up his International Falls class ring.
“It’s never been changed,” he said. “It’s been that way since the 1930s.”
Distributors sometimes send benevolent diamonds and Trumpeter likes to use them as donations to support local organizations and events. He has a passion for bringing the new hospital to town.
Trompeter has studied and collected coins since the age of five and is now an active dealer. He enjoys when people bring their child or grandchild in to see the coins and get them interested in collecting.
“That is my big love,” he said. “I am very fortunate to come to work every day and play.”