By Kaitlin Candelaria
People tend to get many things from their mothers — eye color, a fondness for certain foods and, in the case of Rose Goldner and Donna Jowers, a business.
Goldner said she was inspired to start her own jewelry business while she was sitting in a salon chair almost 40 years ago.
“I told my hairdresser, Ronnie, that I was leaving my job, and he said ‘Good, because you’re going to rent the space in the back of my shop,’” Goldner said.
Goldner said she was skeptical about the idea at first but decided to take a chance after talking with her family.
“When I came back and talked to Ronnie, he said, ‘People will come with their Rolls Royces to the back of the shop.’ I’ll be darned if they didn’t,” she said.
Jewels by Rose was born in the back of the beauty shop in Vestavia Hills.
As Goldner’s clientele began to grow, she moved into the space next door, where Jewels by Rose is still located today.
In the mid-1980s, Goldner’s daughter, Donna, moved back to Birmingham and began working in the store.
“I knew absolutely nothing about the jewelry business,” Jowers said. “I took courses and learned on the job. My mother was always very inspirational, because there was nothing that she wouldn’t attempt. She instilled in me that women could accomplish anything if they put their minds to it.”
Now, after many years of working as a team, Goldner is retiring and Jowers is taking over the store.
“We’ve always gotten along beautifully because she knew what she was doing, and I approved of what she was doing,” Goldner said. “I decided that it was time for me to retire because I knew the store was in good hands, and I didn’t have to worry about her anymore. I’d given enough.”
Goldner said she is not worried about leaving the business in her daughter’s hands because she knows Jowers will uphold their standard of service, she said.
“I know Donna is going to continue to take care of the customers, because she’s very well loved,” Goldner said. “She’s kind, she’s concerned and she treats them the way they should be treated.”
Jowers said she is excited instead of nervous about the new opportunity.
“I’ve been here for 30 years,” Jowers said. “I’ve watched families grow up. We’re now taking care of the grandchildren of our regular customers.”
Along with the change in ownership, customers will also see some other changes at Jewels by Rose.
Jowers is in the process of liquidating the store’s current supply through a retirement sale in order to create room for new lines that she hopes to introduce. Alan Thompson, the store’s jeweler for 15 years, will also be creating a workshop in the front of the store so that customers can watch him as he works.
“If the customers are happy, we’re happy,” Goldner said. “It’s going to change the store in some ways, but she knows exactly what’s going on in the business.”
For more information on the retirement sale, visit www.jewelsbyrose.net. ϖ