jewelry

ROCKS Has You Covered With Stylish Jewelry, Gifts and Home Decor

October 26, 2019 by Ella Ilan

Injecting cutting edge style into the new shopping center at Chappaqua Crossing, ROCKS Jewelry Gifts Home (“Rocks”) opened its doors this past May. The one of a kind boutique carries unique and modern fine jewelry, fashion jewelry, and home decor. Upon entering the bright and airy space, one is immediately struck by the beautiful artwork on the walls and the chic home accessories artfully displayed.

The store is entirely curated by owner Tanya Tochner, an 18-year resident of Chappaqua. Tochner recently closed her jewelry store in Armonk to focus on the expansion of her business into home design at the Chappaqua Crossing location.

“The home component is all new,” says Tochner. “The idea for it started five years ago but I never had the space for it in Armonk and then this opportunity in Chappaqua came up. Home goods take up a lot of space and we have almost 2,000 square feet here to accommodate us.”

There are no home and jewelry stores in the shopping center so Rocks provides a unique shopping experience.

“The jewelry and the home products really complement each other,” explains Tochner. “Customers come in intending to buy a hostess gift but end up looking at jewelry and vice versa.”

Jewelry That Rocks

“I try to carry pieces that are unique and modern and unlike other jewelry stores,” says Tochner.

Tochner sells a wide array of fine and fashion jewelry. Some favorite designers whose original pieces she currently sells include Jamie Joseph, Janis Savitt, Rebel Designs, Rachel Reinhardt, and Ela Rae. The store also carries the Jolie B. Ray line that Tochner created along with her previous design partner over a decade ago.

But Tochner is always changing things up and on the look out for new and exciting designers.

She is also adept at creating custom pieces. As a child, Tochner always liked fine jewelry and had a penchant for drawing. She discovered that drawing was helpful when she worked on the Jolie B. Ray line, and was able to draw jewelry and give it to her manufacturer to create it. She offers that custom service to all her clients. If a customer requests a specific design, Tochner can draft it on paper, make a model, and then ultimately present them with a final product from that drawing.

Rocks also keeps a convenient database of “wish lists” for their customers. “I always tell women to create a wish list if they’re eyeing certain pieces because their husbands come in to buy birthday or anniversary gifts and they want to know what their wives like,” explains Tochner.

Is Your Table Ready for the Holidays?

For people that love to entertain, Rocks is a treasure trove of gorgeous platters, vases, decanters, barware and bowls. Just in time for the holidays, they are selling modern tabletop accessories that are sure to impress any dinner guest.

Larger home items showcased at the store include ottomans, side tables, benches, lighting and artwork. Tochner offers personalized design services and visits to a client’s home to accessorize their house.

“We try to have something for everyone,” says store manager Wendi Gordon. “We have $18 candles and candles that are over $100. We find that everyone shops at all different price points. We have coasters for $40, candy dishes for $45, and bowls for $250. If you’re going to someone’s house and want to bring a little something, we have plenty of affordable options. If you’re looking for a higher end piece to decorate your home with, we have many choices.”

Staying Ahead of the Trends

On where she derives her inspiration and ideas, Tochner says,” I’ve always had an eye for jewelry and home design. I feel that if I like it myself, I will be passionate about selling it. I also listen to my customers and what they want.”

As for following any favorite bloggers or instagram accounts, Tochner says she does not spend her time doing that. “I don’t want to cloud my judgment. I try to be creative and if you are constantly looking at what everyone else is doing, you can’t come up with your own spin.”

Tochner definitely stays current and does her research. She travels to the home show in North Carolina twice a year, attends the New York shows, and is in the city once or twice a week buying merchandise, fulfilling custom orders or getting complicated jewelry repairs done for customers.

The boutique has a fun party vibe to it. Maybe it is all the sparkle between the glamorous jewels and the beautiful serveware that evokes this feeling. It may also be the friendly staff comprising of local moms that are eager to help you find that perfect gift.

Rocks holds many events at the store featuring local vendors and running various promotions throughout the year. To stay informed of all their fun events and see their newest merchandise, be sure to follow them on instagram at @rocks.jewelry_gifts_home. You can also request to be added to their email list or follow them on Facebook at Rocks by Jolie B. Ray.

The store is located at 480 Bedford Road in Chappaqua and can be reached at (914) 219-5808.

LaGravinese Jewelers: Serving Armonk’s Jewelry Needs with a Personal Touch

August 24, 2019 by The Inside Press

Armonk’s original jewelry store, LaGravinese Jewelers, located on Main Street in Downtown Armonk is in its 26th year of providing its clientele with beautiful jewelry. The LaGravinese family has been in the jewelry business for over a century. Debra LaGravinese, owner of the Armonk store, is trained in diamond grading, gemology, gem identification, and pearl grading by the Gemological Institute of America. LaGravinese Jewelers carries a large selection of jewelry at all price points and are known for their custom design work, excellent service, and quick turnaround time.

Custom Design

Clients looking for handcrafted custom pieces specifically made for them meet with LaGravinese and her trusted bench jeweler/“right-hand man,” Art Manfredo, to create the design they have in mind. They can incorporate a sentimental piece of family jewelry into a new design or simply construct an entirely new piece of jewelry. Approximately eighty percent of LaGravinese’s business involves redesign, repairs and special orders.

“If you have an estate piece that nobody is wearing and it just sits in a drawer, we can make something current out of it, either trendy or classic, that the next generation wants to wear,” says LaGravinese.

Celebrating Milestones

Jewelers often get to share in their clients’ most joyous celebrations. Helping clients choose the perfect gift for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or any momentous event, is what they do. It is especially sweet when they have personal relationships with those clients.

“I have recently been working on a lot of engagement rings,” LaGravinese says. “All of my clients’ children are at an age now where they’re all getting married. After 25 years in the same town, it’s great to see these generational milestones. I have amazing clientele and I’m so lucky to be part of their process of buying and giving to their family.”

Happy Customers

Many of LaGravinese’s clients have been customers for decades. The business is well sustained by virtue of repeat customers and word of mouth.

“You don’t get to stay in business 25 years doing the wrong thing,” she remarks. Despite being a small store in a small town, she makes certain that the store remains competitive. “We are very close to Manhattan, so I compete with that and I compete with the internet. I make sure I am giving the best possible deal to my customers,” she says. LaGravinese travels to jewelry shows and strives to acquire a diverse collection and unique pieces such as watches from Shinola that her clients may not have seen elsewhere.

As a full service jewelry store, they cater to all their customers’ jewelry needs, including watch battery, watch repairs, appraisals, ear piercing, custom orders, redesign, pearl restringing, and they buy diamonds, gold and silver.

LaGravinese is grateful for her clients and to many of them that have become friends over the years. “I’m blessed to know them,” she says.

With the fall season upon us, LaGravinese is stocking up on plenty of new inventory for the holiday season. Be sure to stop in and check out their selection. Also, be on the lookout for their occasional specials when a portion of proceeds are donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

LaGravinese Jewelers
430 Main Street in Armonk
P: (914) 273-5432
lagravinesearmonk.com

ICD Contemporary Jewelry: Heaven for Jewelry Lovers and Design Aficionados This Spring

March 8, 2018 by Stacey Pfeffer

When most New Yorkers think of jewelry they know that the Diamond District in midtown Manhattan offers gorgeous pieces from top designers but you don’t have to travel to NYC to avail yourself of the most exquisite jewels from top designers. For more than four decades, ICD Contemporary Jewelry located in downtown Chappaqua has been a bastion of beautiful jewelry showcasing some of the leading designers in the world of fine jewelry. Just this past holiday season, ICD Contemporary Jewelry played host to celebrated designer Tovi Farber from Israel. Farber made an in-store appearance at an exclusive trunk show, which helped customers create one-of-a-kind pieces.

Farber who hails from Israel creates jewelry utilizing gold and colorful semi-precious stones that celebrates every woman’s original, individual style. Farber fans love the organic appeal of her jewelry and her unique sense of style with a keen eye for aesthetics. She embraces the interplay between structures, contrasts and intensities so every piece is distinctly styled and timeless.

Widespread Appeal for Farber’s Creations

Varda Singer, the owner of ICD Contemporary Jewelry was thrilled to see how Farber’s holiday collection appealed to customers across a wide spectrum from millennials in their early 30s to baby boomers. “Once the customers saw her collection they fell instantly in love with it. We didn’t have to sell it. Her beautiful designs sold themselves.” Singer has been busy delivering special orders from that trunk show that were custom created by her and Farber utilizing customer’s seldom worn jewelry and transforming it into modern pieces with timeless appeal. The shop is busy year long with customers making appointments with Singer who collaborates with Farber on a continual basis.

Tovi Farber helping customers inside ICD this past holiday season.

New Line Nanis: A Hit for Spring

Singer is in the midst of planning upcoming trunk shows and one that she is particularly excited about is Laura Bicego’s Nanis line hailing from Venice, Italy. Laura is the sister of famed jewelry designer Marco Bicego and her work done in 18K gold has been praised for its artistry. Unlike other designers who create pieces with pencil first, she creates with her skillful, delicate hands and her line is synonymous with “well-made.”

Singer‘s favorite part of the job is developing long-lasting relationships with her customers. She has several that travel from all over Westchester County including Rye where they previously had a store and New York City. She prides herself on delivering “concierge” service and can take appointments in people’s homes, in the evenings or work with them virtually via online renderings of custom pieces. She loves to see the “before” and “after” remodels of jewelry that are created in collaboration with her customers. Several are posted on the store’s Facebook page and serve as inspiration to customer’s seeking a jewelry makeover. For more information on jewelry makeovers or upcoming trunk shows, visit ICD Jewelry’s Facebook page.

ROCKS by Jolie B. Ray: A Unique Shopping Experience

March 8, 2018 by Shauna Levy

Upon entering ROCKS by Jolie B. Ray in Armonk on a late winter day, the snow is lightly falling outside, giving the shop the appearance of a literal jewel box in a snow globe. The cozy, well curated space dazzles with eye candy from the glittering jewels in the shelves to the art on the walls.

Tanya Tochner, the polished owner, greets customers as she artfully arranges jewelry in amethyst toned displays.

In a town that’s experiencing its own renaissance of sorts, ROCKS is a mainstay, offering consistently on-trend, yet unique jewelry to a loyal customer base for almost seven years. For Tochner, who’s designed jewelry with partner Marjorie Troob for over ten years, opening the shop was a natural progression in providing a higher level of service to her clients. She recounts the shop’s inception, saying, “My design partner and I shared a passion for fine jewelry and left successful corporate careers to pursue our creative interests. Our line, Jolie B. Ray, named for our children, Joshua, Lindsay, Ben and Rachel, was born. Recognizable for its contemporary, timeless designs that incorporate hammered looks, intricate mixed metal work with 18k gold and beautiful gemstones, Jolie B. Ray quickly grew a cult-like following. ROCKS was the logical next step and is now the exclusive provider of our collections.”

ROCKS is renowned for its concierge style approach and carrying uncommon, contemporary, artistic jewelry. Tochner painstakingly scouts couture shows around the country to handpick the designers that will be displayed alongside the Jolie B. Ray designs. Though there are some staples, approximately 20 new lines are added each season at all price points. “We seldom carry the same items twice and work with clients to carefully select just the right piece. If that perfect piece is not in the shop, we will source it and follow-up to ensure satisfaction,” she asserts.

As a jewelry designer, Tochner is adept at forecasting the trends her discerning clientele will crave. In 2018 she predicts, “Younger customers are becoming quite sophisticated, gravitating towards dainty rings and necklaces and little hoop earrings. Similarly, women are layering contemporary jewelry and long necklaces with their more traditional pieces.” Customization is also fashionable with women favoring a more modern take on name plates, while tweens and teens are incorporating monograms within their designs. “Women are now buying multi-functional jewelry,” Tochner adds, “We are veering away from pieces that are solely for special occasions.”

Seeing jewelry as an expression of art, the shop also functions as a gallery. Tochner uses the same discerning eye to select contemporary artists that are in synchrony with ROCKS aesthetic to grace the walls. “The high ceilings of the space simply lent themselves to functioning as a gallery. Jewelry is a form of wearable art and follows similar sensibilities. Curating the gallery is a natural extension of our product offerings and appeal to our customers’ creative expressions.”

It is this holistic approach to servicing the community that also extends to Tochner’s commitment to making the shop accessible for philanthropic endeavors. ROCKS regularly hosts events benefitting local organizations close to her clients’ hearts such as Kids Kloset, a Westchester Jewish Community Services program and the Pleasantville Cottage School, a residential treatment center for young people.

And that community is expanding. Tochner clarifies, “Armonk has become a destination town, boasting many new shops and restaurants. We are enjoying traffic from our neighbors in Bedford, Katonah, Greenwich and Chappaqua.” With the advantages of its setting, also come the challenges of operating a business in a suburban environment. “Business in the suburbs is cyclical,” Tochner says. “Summers, when many children are away in camp, can be slow. Similarly, snow days are quiet. These are issues that NYC retailers don’t experience.”

To combat the challenges inherent in any retail business, Tochner is continuously evolving the shop’s business model. The website, for example, was recently revamped to optimize clients’ virtual shopping experience on those slow summer and snow days. In response to demand, Tochner also now provides liaison services to coordinate the sale of customers’ estate jewelry and is providing jewelry rental for special occasions. These services join ROCKS’ existing menu of offerings including wish lists, heirloom jewelry redesign, repairs for both costume and fine jewelry and personal shopping.

Visit ROCKS by Jolie B. Ray to enjoy an unparalleled shopping experience. For the latest product offerings and jewelry trends, follow them on Instagram, Facebook or visit www.rocksbyjoliebray.com.

Tovi Farber Designs & Trunk Show Delight Holiday Shoppers at ICD

December 5, 2017 by Inside Press

By Stacey Pfeffer

ICD Contemporary Jewelry located in downtown Chappaqua hosted a trunk show featuring exquisite jewelry from celebrated designer Tovi Farber last weekend. Farber who hails from Israel creates jewelry utilizing gold and colorful semi-precious stones that celebrates every woman’s original, individual style.

Farber fans love the organic appeal of her jewelry and her unique sense of style with a keen eye for aesthetics. She embraces the interplay between structures, contrasts and intensities so every piece is distinctly styled and timeless.

Widespread Appeal for Farber’s Creations

Varda Singer, the owner of ICD Contemporary Jewelry which is the only retailer selling Tovi Farber designs in the Northeast, was thrilled to see how Farber’s holiday collection appealed to customers across a wide spectrum from millennials in their early 30s to baby boomers.

“Once the customers saw her collection they fell instantly in love with it. We didn’t have to sell it. Her beautiful designs sold themselves.” Singer also believes that Farber’s down-to-earth personality and willingness to listen to a customer’s needs helped make it a successful trunk show with record sales.

Tovi Farber (left)and ICD’s Varda Singer and Virginia Shasha

ICD Contemporary Jewelry is well known throughout the region for their unique redesigns using customer’s seldom worn jewelry that can be updated into bespoke pieces. Farber is a master at redesign and her sharp sense of style resulted in many custom orders at the trunk show. Holiday shoppers who were unable to attend the trunk show can still view Farber’s collection at ICD Contemporary Jewelry, which has extended hours throughout the holiday season.

“It’s not too late for customers to come in and place an order or create a customized piece,” commented Singer who has a long-standing relationship with Farber. Her collection will also be on view on Friday, December 8 during ICD Contemporary Jewelry’s annual holiday celebration at 6 p.m. with 10% of all purchases benefitting the Making Headway Foundation, a local non-profit dedicated to the care and comfort of children with brain or spinal cord tumors while funding medical research geared to better treatments and a cure. Gourmet treats and champagne will be served.