Renée James Jewelry’s Lauren Major creates not only unique jewelry, but a unique experience for her clients, as well.
Renée James Jewelry, 9101 State Route 117, Huntsville, owned by Lauren Major, will have a fall event with The Hanger Boutique Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. and will feature their new pieces for the fall. (EXAMINER PHOTO | AMANDA TONOLI)
“My jewelry speaks for itself where it’s definitely quality,” Major said. “The design and hand fabrication that bring it to life is next to none.”
Renée James Jewelry, 9101 State Route 117, Huntsville, was created by jewelry designer and Gemologist, Lauren Major.
The name of her business is derived from her parents’ first names, Renée and James Duff.
“I wanted it to be personal, but not exactly my name,” Major explained.
Major is an Indian Lake graduate. She studied fine arts at Capital University in Columbus. She then furthered her education by studying at The Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California. While at GIA, Major studied Applied Jewelry Arts where she learned how to design by hand rendering, wax carving and 3D Computer Aided Design. While there she also studied Gemology with a concentration in diamonds and gemstones.
At Renée James, there is a focus on engagement rings, wedding bands and redesigns. The staff works with existing materials or can offer a wide array of certified diamonds and gemstones.
Renée James has several designs on-hand including the Ohio Collection and recent additions of Sapphire and Spinel Collections. Major enjoys working with color, especially Watermelon Tourmaline. At Renée James, there are gifts for anniversaries, birthdays and holidays.
“(Everyone has) their own ideas,” Major said. “I get to share my designs and people buy and enjoy them.”
Part of what she loves is getting to work with so many incredible people.
“Young-old, female to male, everybody has their own story,” Major said. “It’s at a personal level when you make these custom pieces. It’s a really a personal experience … I get to really know them. When I make pieces it takes four to six weeks — that’s a lot of communication.”
Major’s favorite part about doing what she does is being able to see her creative designs come to life.
“Of course I love working with people, but seeing it come from an idea to a reality is pretty special,” she said. “It’s never boring (and it’s) always something different.”
Major said there is a unique creativity to what she does.
“It’s different from a typical jewelry store,” she said. “They have a lot of the same thing, but this is very custom, very unique. The pieces I create for my store are one of a kind chances are not going to be seen on five other people out on the street.”
Major said she tries to strive for her clients to be comfortable.
“When you shop for jewelry it’s a lot — it’s intense,” she said. “I don’t want them to feel stressed out about it. I want to make them comfortable and knowledgeable about what they’re buying especially with young guys (who) come here and are nervous for the biggest purchase they’ve ever had. I really just try to educate them on what they’re buying and make them comfortable and explain every step of the way and hold their hand every step of the way because it’s jewelry and not everyone understands it.”
Major has even played a role in a couple engagements and helped with the planning process for some proposals.
“That’s not above asking us to do,” she said. “We kind of have fun doing that.”
Renée Duff, Major’s mother, said Renée James Jewelry has been a long process.
“We started when she was 10,” Duff said. “We started messing around with beading and then it turned into metal smithing. We took classes from Columbus Cultural Arts Center (and) then she furthered the metal smithing at Capital University. At that point she decided she was more interested in design aspects.”
Duff laughed that Major is a “stone geek.” “We think it’s kind of funny because of the fact that we have a quarry across the street,” Duff said.
Major used to collect stones in the quarry as a child.
“Now she’s across the street working with different types of stones,” Duff said.
Duff said she thinks Major took a huge leap of faith starting her jewelry career as young as she did, straying from her previous path in art therapy.
“It was a hard decision for us to agree with and for her to do but I think she’s a lot happier following her dream job rather than something maybe a little more mainstream,” she said.
Duff most enjoys that Major gets to be herself and be creative everyday. “That’s definitely the thing we’re most proud of,” Duff said. “She enjoys her work and enjoys mak- ing people happy.”
Major couldn’t agree more.
“It’s a passion,” Major said simply. “I love what I do. It’s a good challenge and I enjoy it.”
Renée James will have a fall event with The Hanger Boutique Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. Both businesses will feature their new pieces for the fall.
Renée James holiday hours are Tuesday through Friday noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
