Hobby turns full-time business for Silver Gypsy

Silver Gypsy started in May 2002, when owner Julie Loss decided to turn her jewelry-making hobby into a new career in retail. Loss began by making jewelry from sterling silver flatware and selling it at arts and crafts shows.

“I got tired of packing it up and hauling it around and decided that I would rather have a store and try to sell all the time instead of just on weekends,” she said.

Also, after a 26-year career as a hairstylist, “I was tired of standing up,” Loss said with a laugh. “I wanted to be artistic, but I wanted to sit down.”

She established Silver Gypsy in a 500-square-foot space at Plaza Tower Center, primarily selling jewelry she made herself.

The name was a natural: The gypsies were known for metalworking and travel, and “that’s kind of how I felt before I had my location, like a gypsy,” Loss said.

Starting her own business was exciting, she added. “Starting from scratch, you have a clean slate and you can have it be whatever you want it to be. That was fun.”

Within a year of opening, Loss moved to a larger location in Plaza Tower Center, tripling her space to 1,500 square feet. With the move, she broadened her product mix, with “different” and “unique” as her watchwords.

In addition to rings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants and charms, Silver Gypsy offers humorous cards, coasters and magnets from Shade Tree; wry cards by MikWright; T-shirts from David & Goliath; and whimsical soaps by Primal Elements.

There’s also a selection of accessories designed especially for pet lovers: soft-side pet carriers in bright colors, bejeweled collars, dog T-shirts and pocketbooks emblazoned with pugs, poodles, etc.

All of Loss’ jewelry is sterling silver. While she still makes some items herself, it’s hard to do that and run the business. As a result, she has added select jewelry from a variety of sources, including artists in Mexico from whom she buys direct, making biannual trips south of the border. She also shops sources online, spending hours searching for the new and unusual.

Her customers range from “girls in junior high buying birthday gifts up through women in their 40s and their 50s. Everyone likes jewelry … and I try to keep something that everyone would like.”

Competition is an ongoing challenge, but Loss feels the uniqueness of her wares gives her an edge.

“There are new places that open up all the time, that buy larger lots and can sell cheaper, but (with Silver Gypsy items) you don’t have the same thing that someone else walking around the mall’s going to have,” she said.

“I buy smaller amounts so I pay a little more for it, but you’re going to get something unique. And a piece of sterling is going to last, where something that isn’t sterling, it’s disposable.”

But sterling is accessible for almost any budget. “With sterling you can buy a $6 pair of earrings up to a $130 bracelet,” Loss said.

Among the hottest jewelry items in Loss’ store are “anything that you can monogram on or that has an inscription on it,” and particularly Far Fetched brand jewelry inscribed with inspirational or motivational words and phrases. “Anything that says something is real big right now,” she said.

Loss runs the store with the help of her family: husband Robert Loss and her children John, Janssen and Jordan Dunlop, as well as her cousin, Tammi Jones.

“We’re keeping it in the family so far,” Loss said.

Family also includes Loss’ constant companion in the shop, her Chihuahua, Maggie, who sits behind the counter, modeling one of Silver Gypsy’s pet carriers.

Loss declined to disclose Silver Gypsy’s revenues, noting that sales vary widely from day to day, but she added that the gift-giving holidays are always busy.

As a result, the store has expanded its hours for the holidays. Normally open 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, until Christmas the store is open noon–6 p.m. Sunday.

Looking to the future, Loss said she’d like to open a second store in Springfield or one of the surrounding communities. If a second store became reality, Loss said, she’d love to be downtown.

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