‘Flax Craft’ fine jewellery store reopens after 28 years
Both Mr and Mrs Keith L. and Rosemarie Flax getting back into the business of producing high quality fine jewellery is an opportunity for them to stay active, showcase the qualities of home-bred Virgin Islanders and have their three daughters re-live aspects of their childhood years.
Their children are Attorney at law in the office of the VI Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mrs Annjel X. Flax Solomon, Dr. Allison C. Flax-Archer and Dr Aasha-Marie Flax-Miller.
Flax Craft first got into the business in 1974. In 1984 it became an incorporated company. They continued the process of making jewellery by hand until 1986 when they were forced to close. At that time they were the victims of a spate of robberies which had resulted in them recording heavy uncompensated financial losses.
“I being a talented person, I convinced my wife that we should get back into business, she agreed and here we are today opened once more,” said Mr Flax. They opened the doors of the business yesterday morning July 11, 2014 and much to their pleasure some of their first customers that walked in were persons very close to their heart including a woman whose wedding band they had made some thirty years ago.
Yesterday that special customer still had that wedding band on and she relished the memory. “I am so happy to see the store back in business, I am so happy for you, you are very talented and without a doubt this business will thrive, congratulations,” said the woman.
Walking into the store and without asking any questions one would observe a number of things – class, quality, uniqueness, affordable prices, a friendly environment and from looking at the faces the presence of a happy united family.
This was no doubt the experience of this news site and the same could have been read off the faces of the many persons who entered, placed orders, made purchases, and gave congratulatory words. This news site couldn’t help but ask the question of the origin of the pieces.
Learning that every last piece of jewellery item was made by hand from scratch by Mr and Mrs Flax was a wowing revelation. This news site along with a few others had the privilege of getting a detailed tour of the family’s workshop which one could only describe as ‘standard’ at its highest.
But just how were they able to make such an impressive come back as they both had long demanding jobs after they closed some 28 years? “You never lose those skills and what I did, a little over a year ago I went back to the United States to the school I attended originally and I did a refresher course so I am basically back on track now,” said Mr Flax.
“Our prices are competitive. Our aim is to have a jewellery store of a certain standard and we will be maintaining those standards, we are not selling costume jewellery, we are selling fine jewellery but at the same time while being fine jewellery it is within the purchasing means of the average person,” said Mr Flax. “But if somebody wants to spend a lot of money we can accommodate them.”
“Fine pieces of jewellery we will sell but our specialty is to produce a piece of jewellery of quality, something that can appreciate in value rather than depreciate,” interjected Mrs Flax.
Mr Flax has been trained in all facets of jewellery-making and for Mrs Flax it is something that keeps the family together and for her personally it is the process of her re-threading as opposed to going into retirement.
For the Flax children seeing the family business back on stream is very nostalgic especially for the baby in the family Dr Aasha-Marie Flax-Miller. “You saw me crawling under the showcase earlier I did that when I was much younger as well so it’s second nature almost. I grew up seeing daddy in the back doing jewellery pieces and to this day I wouldn’t trust my jewellery to anyone else,” said Mrs Flax-Miller.
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17 Responses to “‘Flax Craft’ fine jewellery store reopens after 28 years”
Dis is not a political story but I surely will make it one.
Does Keith still want the 9th district or he selling jewelry now?
I was told he was trying to undermine R....ie but now R....ie out like VINO always say, WHO IN NOW?