John Goldman, owner of the Green River Silver Co., travels across the U.S. Southwest and to countries such as Mexico, Indonesia and Italy to buy jewelry directly from the people who make it.
COMPANY PROFILE
Green River Silver Co.
OWNERS: John and Dan Goldman
(brothers)
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Silver jewelry and gift importer and retailer
LOCATIONS: 735 Hope St., Providence;
24 Brown St., Wickford; 297 Hope St.,
Bristol
EMPLOYEES: 12 off-season; about 24
during holidays and summer
YEAR FOUNDED: 1999
ANNUAL REVENUE: WND
Silver importer sells handcrafted jewelry and gifts bought all around the world
Pendants of topaz, garnets, jade, opals, onyx, coral and mother-of-pearl decorate the walls and shelves at Green River Silver Co. in Providence. Silver earrings, bracelets and necklaces of all shapes and design shimmer under the glass countertops.
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The jewelry comes from Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand and Italy. This year owner John Goldman plans to travel to India for the first time to start importing jewelry from there.
Goldman said he finds unique silver jewelry by pounding the pavement, gravel and dirt roads all over the world. He always is in search of original hand-made products.
“I’ll literally go to people’s homes in Mexico,” he said. “We’re talking to the people who make it.”
Goldman cuts out the wholesaler by buying directly from the source, which enables him to sell the jewelry at lower prices. He said he attributes much of the success of the company to its competitive prices, unique products and customer service.
“A lot of things in the store are under $20,” he said. “That’s what keeps us going.”
With sales at the flagship Providence store continuing to grow each year, Goldman has opened two additional stores, one in Wickford three years ago, and one in Bristol about a year ago.
When he first started buying and importing jewelry about 17 years ago, Goldman said, he brought back the merchandise in suitcases on the plane. Now the stores receive monthly shipments from all over the world. The display cases let customers know where the jewelry came from.
“There is new stuff coming in all the time,” he said. “We get hundreds of kilos of jewelry shipped to us every year.”
The store also sells mirrors made out of punched tin and hand-painted tile from Mexico, which, against the terra-cotta colored walls, gives the store a Southwest look.
Goldman said he developed an eye for quality “through years of making every mistake in the book.”
Goldman started out in the music industry, selling merchandise to music stores. One sunny weekend, he decided to sell some cassettes and vinyl records at a flea market. He made a week’s pay in two days of selling.
“There was no glory in it,” he said. “But I saw the potential in selling for myself. I was always interested in being self-employed.”
A few years later, Goldman met a man who sold jewelry. The man taught him the business, and after about 10 years of selling jewelry at stands in colleges, hospitals and craft shows, Goldman decided to open a store.
He picked the name by sticking a pin in a map of Mexico. The pin landed on Rio Verde – Green River.
When Goldman’s brother, Dan, found out about the store, he offered to help run it. Dan Goldman was working in the banking industry at the time.
“I hated the money aspect,” John Goldman said. “He took over that end. He was the missing link for me.”
To a great extent, sales at the three Green River stores are holiday-driven, Goldman said: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, Hanukkah and graduation keep sales up.
Summertime in Wickford and Bristol is also a busy time because of tourism.
The stores’ typical customer is an educated woman between age 25 and 60. Goldman said he knows his regular customers by name. If a customer is looking for a piece of jewelry he doesn’t have in stock, he will order or try to find it.
The Bristol store also has an art gallery on its second floor, and that is good for business, Goldman said. The gallery adds to the area’s cultural life and brings in customers interested in art, who also might be interested in original jewelry sold in the store.
“All of the stores are succeeding, so we’re thrilled,” he said.
