Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley McNamara.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ashley. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been a professional in the jewelry industry for almost 20 years now. It all started when I was a young single Mom living in Colorado with my 2-year-old daughter, Rain. I’d been studying both Art and English at Santa Monica College (go, SaMo!), bartending and cocktailing in the evenings, and realized I couldn’t keep going on like this. I needed something solid, stable and something for my daughter to look up to as she grew older. Something with a touch of glamour … maybe even something that would let me travel the world. And it was like a literal light bulb went off over my head: JEWELRY!
I’d always been drawn to the sparkling treasures lit underneath the jeweler’s glass, dragging my family into every jewelry store I came across when I was a little girl. And it seemed to me that jewelry was the perfect combination of Art and Science, with a little bit of English thrown in for good measure. I headed down to the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver and promptly was hired at Kabana, a couture jewelry store famous for their high-end Australian opal inlay designs in 14K and 18K gold.
Kabana set me on my course for life – I discovered a passion for the jewelry industry, and I’ve been slingin’ stones ever since. Two years later I moved back to my beloved LA and began working at ABC Gems in downtown Los Angeles. The owners (who had their own gemstones mines and cutting factory in Minas Gerais) taught me everything they knew about sorting and grading Emeralds, Rubies, Sapphires, Topaz, Brazilian Alexandrite and more – I still get in touch with them whenever I need fine-grade colored gemstones for custom design projects. From there I went on to dabble in the diamond-bridal industry, but the other precious gemstones always called to me in a way that diamonds never quite seemed to.
I met the original owner of Pure Pearls at the behest of a colleague – we went to lunch at Arda’s Cafe in downtown and hit it off immediately – common topics were the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry and wanting to do something really unique and special with our careers. I agreed to take over the management of her new start-up, PurePearls.com, which was only a year old at the time.
Fast forward a few years, and I decided to buy PurePearls.com and continue pushing the boundaries of what a luxury online business could be. By removing the middleman (and the middleman’s middleman) from the “normal” brick and mortar supply chain and sourcing our gemstones directly from the pearl auctions and farms directly, I’m able to save my customers hundreds to thousands of dollars on a fine pearl necklace or a pair of earrings.
The advent of purchasing fine jewelry online has received some resistance, especially from the brick and mortar stores that rely on foot traffic (and I don’t blame them!), but I wouldn’t have it any other way. And I think we’ve been able to overcome some tremendous barriers in terms of educating jewelry consumers about these “niche” gemstones, and we’re introducing totally new pearl types to the market that customers never would have known existed if the online marketplace wasn’t here.
Using the nearly limitless reach of the internet, I can connect with people all around the world, and share with them my experience in the industry, and help them fall in love with something they never knew about before.
Today, PurePearls.com is one of the leading online pearl specialty boutiques; my focus on educating people about pearls and offering a curated collection of rare, colorful and beautiful gems in the pearl world has earned the friendship of customers and industry professionals alike.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! But I wouldn’t have it any other way – necessity is the mother of invention, and all of the trials Pure has endured over the years have taught me a lot.
In 2008 (that infamous year!), Pure endured both one of the largest market-crashes in US history, and the rollout of Google’s new search algorithm, Panda. Panda knocked the site back to Page 10 initially, and I thought for sure that Pure would fold, but we pulled through – mostly because I’d developed so many repeat clients over the years, and maintained a solid email list that we could market to.
That’s where my focus on becoming the leading site on Pearl Education came to be born (necessity is the mother of all invention, after all), and my years of writing short stories finally got put to good use!
Today, PurePearls.com regularly ranks in the top 3 of organic search listings on Google due to my education-focused content creation efforts, which is really gratifying. There’s always something new to write about in this industry, so I will continue to revamp existing pages and add fresh, exciting updates about the pearl industry. I’m also looking to begin creating high-quality video content over the next year, as I think the video is a way to “cut to the chase” for customers, and visually showcase some of the concepts that are harder to describe in words and articles.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about PurePearls.com – what should we know?
I decided that PurePearls.com should build on a “niche within the pearl niche”, focusing on rare and unique pearl colors that you just can’t find anywhere else. You want to find a fine Champagne South Sea necklace with flashes of Magenta and Violet? I am your girl. Looking for Cherry Tahitians? Or a tailored selection of matched pearls so you can personally select the exact pearls you want? That’s me.
While I stock all the classics – the white Japanese Akoya pearl necklaces, the Hanadama pearls, the durable Freshwater pearls from China, I really love hand-selecting the exotics: Tahitians, South Sea pearls, Sea of Cortez pearls from Mexico – pearls with really rare, saturated colors, unique layouts and shapes … I like to think that my company helps infuse each pearl with a story of its own that my customers can fall in love with, and make a part of their own lives.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Tenacity.
Remember, there’s always a way around obstacles – always. I’ve known that my ability to come up with 3 alternative options for every time someone tells me “No” can be regarded as an annoyance, but it keeps me focused on the silver linings and endless opportunities that are around every corner. Staying solutions-oriented helps maintain a healthy attitude about striking out on your own.
Pricing:
- Classic pearl jewelry like Japanese Akoya pearl earrings can start as low as $95 up through $5,000
- Tahitian and South Sea pearl jewelry starts at just $350 for a pair of luxury pearl earrings or $199 for a fine quality pendant
Contact Info:
- Address: 11301 W. Olympic Blvd. Ste 326 Los Angeles, CA 90064
- Website: www.purepearls.com
- Phone: 1-800-762-0977
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pure-Pearls-129490980402598/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
