Valentine’s Day...

Valentine’s Day... when we celebrate love with chocolate, flowers, and (hopefully) jewelry.

I think everyday should be Valentine’s Day! Really. There can never be too much love in this world. We can show love by just smiling at a stranger. Saying hello as you pass someone on the street. Being kind to, and patient with people.

I had the great fortune of being in New Orleans when the Saints won the Super Bowl last Sunday. Love and happiness was in the air – even in the days leading up to the game – it was intoxicating and contagious. The people I encountered while strolling around the French Quarter were friendly and generous with their smiles.

New Orleans really needed that win. It somehow helps soothe the sting left by Katrina and it definitely boosts the spirits of every Saints fan. I realized upon returning home that I wanted to hold on to the love I felt while in New Orleans, the gratitude for everything in my life, the huge smile plastered across my face – and share it with everyone I met.

Think about how different this world would be if we made every day Valentine’s Day.

Adrienne Rommel,

Business Manager

A belated Happy New Year

Well, a belated Happy New Year to all you good folks! Let’s hope 2010 will bring a renewal of spirit and prosperity to us all.

Nancy Brown survived the tumultuous past year with moderate success. With jewelry not always being at the top of people’s gift list these days, I think we did quite well under current economic conditions. I attribute our success to several positive things. Firstly, our Storywheel line and our Nancy Brown Collection of barrels and wheels continued to shine and sparkle at the top of our sales among our many designer lines. Their quality and great price points brought in new satisfied clients along with our forever loyal repeat customers. The Nancy Brown credo of providing something for everyone lives on - sort of like universal health care but more affordable (Ha! Ha!).






















We also brought in two new sterling silver lines last year, KIR and GeoArt by Cynthia Gale, which performed admirably and added even more diversity to our well-rounded store. Of course, our own in-house star, Gloria Sawin continues to bring in new innovative designs to compliment her popular reversible rings. Nancy Brown Custom Jeweler always has, and will continue to provide the best in jewelry with fair and affordable pricing from a long list of great designers such as Alex Sepkus, Aaron Henry, Susan Blake, Shaesby, and local Santa Fean Michael Tatom, to name just a few.

The real stars of Nancy Brown, however, and what sparkles most, is our (my) incredible staff who strive to make Nancy Brown the best it can be with emphasis on great service, product knowledge, and dedication to the Nancy Brown legacy. That’s why I feel we’re a notch above the rest, always striving to establish a customer base who want to come back. Our success has always been attributed to repeat sales from a satisfied clientele.

When we lost our precious Nancy, we initially lost the capability to custom design. That is not the case any longer! We now have another shining star in our midst – Ana Granillo-Veske – whose enthusiasm and creativity for design come as naturally as Nancy’s did. Her resumé includes some of the finest jewelry stores in San Francisco and GIA training which has provided her with the knowledge and expertise needed to create great custom designs. But Ana does not do it alone, it is a team effort which includes our floor supervisor, Katy Saul and our lovely salesperson Lita Herrera. Their radiance also brings the kind of enthusiasm that Nancy Brown Custom Jeweler is known for.

Now it should not go without mention that the real backbone of Nancy Brown is the special people who keep us in the public eye with great marketing, advertising and internet exposure - namely, my general manager, Adrienne Rommel and her most knowledgeable assistant Cathy Carr. It truly could not happen without them. The two hardest working women in show business – oh… I’m sorry, I mean the jewelry business.

I am blessed to be surrounded by such dedicated people, they are the best. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my studio manager Ken Brito, a fine artist in his own right, who does our repairs, casting, and fabricating when needed. He has been with me for over ten years and gives us the confidence that we can tackle any project or design that comes our way.

Well, again, I would like to thank you all for your patronage and continued support. I will be having bi-lateral knee replacement surgery tomorrow which will put me out of commission for several months. However, as I have just described, the store is in great hands and will be having some great events coming up in the near future. Valentine’s Day and the celebration of Nancy’s birthday in mid March are two events you don’t want to miss, directed by Adrienne and staff. Please stay tune for more updates.

Best Regards,
Russ Tims, Owner

Three years ago today

While we celebrate Nancy almost daily, it was today - three years ago - that we lost her. It’s a difficult day for us here at the store. We bring fresh flowers, light a candle and try to fill the day with our favorite stories of Nancy. We talk about her joie de vivre, her ability to find humor in anything, her larger-than-life personality, her sparkle... Her spirit fills the store and it almost feels like she could walk in at any moment and flash that Cheshire-cat smile at us. We miss her.

We’d like to remind everyone that Nancy’s husband Russell established a fund in her memory to keep the arts alive in local schools. You can read more about it on our website www.nancybrowncustomjeweler.com. Click on the button for the Nancy Brown Memorial Endowment at the bottom of the page. You can even make a donation from there if you feel so inclined.

Indian Market is on its way

Indian Market is almost upon us! For those of you who haven’t been fortunate enough to experience this event, it is the largest Native American Indian arts market in the world happening yearly here in Santa Fe since 1922. The Santa Fe Indian Market® includes 1,200 artists from about 100 tribes who take over downtown Santa Fe to show their work in over 600 booths.


Buyers, collectors and gallery owners from all over the world come to Indian Market to take advantage of the opportunity to buy directly from the artists. For many visitors, this is a rare
opportunity to meet the artists and learn about contemporary Indian arts and cultures.































We will be featuring one of our newest artists here in the store with a trunk show during Indian Market. We are very excited to present the KIR collection, sterling silver and 18 carat gold designs adorned with semi-precious stones and pearls. A fascination with the idea that a well-made piece of jewelry may one day become an heirloom inspired Kir Boedecker to design her first piece of jewelry nearly twenty years ago. References to exotic cultures, detailed textures, unusual finishes and the finest craftsmanship combine to create a striking and versatile collection – and all of it will be in here the store August 21st through August 23rd! We’ll be kicking off the KIR trunk show with an opening that Friday night from 5 to 7 p.m. Come join us for wine and cheese!

Springtime in Santa Fe

It’s springtime in Santa Fe, and you know what that means… wind! Despite the tornado-like conditions, tourists are making their way around the downtown streets stopping in for a reprieve from the weather and looking at what’s new at Nancy Brown’s.

We returned from the Tucson Gem Show with plenty of beautiful beads – all of which have been turned into one-of-a-kind necklaces. Sapphires, Garnets, Citrine, Kyanite and of course, Turquoise just to name a few… the store is full of color, just in time for Easter!

We are very excited to announce that we now have the gorgeous work of Michael Sugarman and his wife Christie Franz. Together they create a line of beautiful show-stopping pieces – juicy natural stones in fabulous diamond accented settings. One of Michael’s most popular designs is his “Connect the Dots” – spirals and waves of gold with a path of diamonds – timeless and easy to wear!

Soon it will be May and that means the weather will be warm and mild, everything will start to bloom, and there’s no better place to be than Santa Fe.

Who is Nancy Brown?

A native of New York, Nancy held a degree in Elementary Education and taught in the San Francisco Bay area fresh out of college. She returned to New York for graduate study in English History and began jewelry lessons. Her natural artistic ability led her to excel at jewelry fabrication and her calling to become a custom jeweler was born.

Nancy arrived in Santa Fe in 1973 with very modest means. To make ends meet, she waited tables at one downtown restaurant during the day and was a hostess at another at night. She would often sell her pieces right off her arm while engaging with customers. She also sewed costumes for the Santa Fe Opera in what spare time she had. She acquired a job as a bench jeweler at a small store called Sunrise Jewelry. Never afraid to dream the grand dream, she aspired to own her own business and was eventually able to purchase the store.

Nancy Brown Custom Jeweler has been in operation since 1985 and is considered the biggest little jewelry store in Santa Fe with a nationwide reputation for quality and exceptional customer service. The success of the store is solely due to Nancy’s determination, “can-do” attitude, sparkling personality, leadership and dedication to her employees and customers. Those who knew her, loved her. Her spirit lives on through her store and the Nancy Brown Memorial Endowment.