After
nearly
a
decade
of
E-commerce
business,
Jean
Jean Vintage needed a physical
space. The vintage and antique
jewelry store had previously
lived exclusively on Etsy, but
owner Emily Duffelmeyer was
constantly fielding requests for
in-person appointments. In a
phone interview with The Daily,
Duffelmeyer opened up about her
business.
“I was getting more and more
requests
for
appointments,
especially from people who were
wanting to invest in higher priced
items, and they really wanted to
see them first and try them on
first,” Duffelmeyer said. “And
I really had no way of hosting
appointments
because
I
was
working out of my house.”
But Duffelmeyer’s motivations
for
breaking
ground
extend
further
than
run-of-the-mill
growing pains. She also cited
a strong desire to be a visible
part of Lansing’s small business
community,
and
to
have
a
space “where (she) could sort
of continue to build the brand
identity of Jean Jean visually,
so the store could start to be
associated with the brand; what
are the colors, what does it smell
like, what’s the music like, what’s
the vibe of the store?”
As someone who has made the
pilgrimage to Jean Jean’s physical
location — and very nearly got
stuck in Lansing in the process —
I can speak from experience about
the store’s affect. The place looks
as crushed velvet feels. It is dark,
moody and has a quiet opulence.
The walls are painted a forest
green and exquisite glass jewelry
cases line the edges. It is clear to
all who step foot in the premises
that the store was designed by a
masterful eye.
When
asked
about
her
inspiration for the space’s design,
Duffelmeyer confessed an interest
in creating a place reminiscent of
the natural history museums of
her childhood. “I remember going
to old natural history museums on
college campus when I was a kid —
my parents worked at Iowa State
University, and my grandparents
were at (the University of Kansas).
Those dimly-lit natural history
museums from the ’60s, where the
colors were sort of dark and the
lights were low, and you had this
sense that you were going back in
time a little bit. So, I wanted the
space to be a luxurious museum
feel.”
In
our
conversation,
Duffelmeyer also expressed a
wish to diverge from the normal
when it came to Jean Jean Vintage.
“(Jewelry stores tend to be) really
bright and sparkling and there’s
track lighting everywhere and
everything is shiny and sparkling,
and I wanted to basically do the
opposite of that.”
The store houses Jean Jean
Vintage’s
extensive
vintage
and antique jewelry collection,
although most of the items can
still be found on the Etsy shop that
started it all. In both locations,
one can find incredible one-of-
a-kind items such as an antique
Russian Imperial gemstone insect
brooch or a vintage ’30s Art Deco
onyx and diamond cocktail ring,
although Duffelmeyer tends to
stock pieces that are between 70
to 120 years old.
“I would say that what I’m
known for is Victorian and Art
Deco costume and fine jewelry,”
Duffelmeyer said. “And in the
last couple of years I’ve started
shifting my focus to bridal jewelry
from the same period.”
However, this was not always
the case; when she was first
starting,
Duffelmeyer
sold
primarily
costume
jewelry,
and initially built a name for
herself through her collection of
Czechoslovakian glass jewelry.
She explains, “in the late 1800s
and into the early 1900s the United
States imported a lot of glass
jewelry
from
Czechoslovakia,
(then the) epicenter of fine hand-
faceted crystal and glass. Czech
glass jewelry is something that
collectors love because it is
very intricate, and the glass is
beautifully cut and it’s usually
brightly colored and set in brass
— but there’s oftentimes beautiful
enamel accent. It has a lot of
defining characteristics and it’s
not made anymore.”
However, unlike other vintage
and antique jewelry stores, Jean
Jean Vintage paradoxically does
not exclusively sell vintage and
antique jewelry. In addition to
acquiring and selling archival
pieces,
Duffelmeyer
produces
her own signature collection,
the Jean Jean Vintage cachet
collection. The cachet collection
is at once new and antique: The
pendants, rings and cufflinks are
cast from letter seals from the
1800s.
“If you were living in (the)
mid-19th century and writing
letters you probably had some
wax seals at your desk,” she said.
“You may have used a family
crest, like in ring, to seal all of
your correspondence, or you
may have had sort of a set that
you could rotate through to pick
the right seal for the right letter.
And the idea of sealing, besides
being utilitarian way of closing
a document, (was that) the seal
on the outside was the first thing
the recipient would see. And so,
whatever you chose to stamp in
that seal was kind of like a preview
to the content of the letter or the
message.” An old-fashioned email
subject line.
The collection is captivating, in
large part because the sentiments
expressed on the pieces still
resonate in a modern context.
“I love that it’s made from
200-year-old artifacts that — even
though they’re old sentiments —
they’re Victorian sentiments —
(are) still really relevant today,”
Duffelmeyer said.
The pieces bear an image and
an inscription, either in French,
Italian or Latin. One popular
piece features a sailboat on a
turbulent sea, with the phrase
“e cosi la mia vita,” or “such is
life,” on one side, and a butterfly
approaching a flower with the
word “attendo,” or “I am waiting,”
on the other. “As if the flower is
talking to the butterfly (saying),
‘I’ve been waiting for you to come
land on me,’” she said. “It would
be the kind of seal you would use
to seal a love letter.”
As
for
the
name,
Jean
Jean
Vintage
comes
from
Duffelmeyer’s middle name. “My
dad called me Jean Jean when I
was a little girl. He died before
I started the business so when I
was thinking of names, that just
kept coming to mind. My mother’s
middle name is Jean, too, so it’s
kind of like the doubling of the
name with my mom as well as the
happy memory of that nickname
from my dad.”
When listening to Duffelmeyer
describe the origin of the name,
I was struck by the poetry in
it; a name handed down from
older generations has come to
represent a business that hands
down heirlooms to individuals
who wish to connect with history.
STYLE
Emily Duffelmeyer discusses Jean Jean Vintage
TESS TOBIN
Daily Arts Writer
Courtesy of Emily Duffelmeyer
Courtesy of Emily Duffelmeyer
6A— Monday, October 22, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com