By Camas Frank
Baxter Moerman Jewelry, a boutique manufacturer of fine jewelry located on Morro Street in SLO for the last seven years, is headed a few blocks down Marsh to the digs recently vacated by Hamilton Estate Jewelry on Garden Street.
Hamilton was on the same street for 31 years, and in the same building for the last decade. When Keith Hamilton decided he was ready to retire he chatted with Matthew Baxter and Mathew Moerman about taking a look at the bigger space and put them in touch with the landlord.
“It’s definitely got a lot going for it right now,” said Moerman. “The fact that it’s already been a jewelry store will be good for us and it’s near Hotel Serra.”
Those are both good factors in foot traffic, something lacking at their current location, although being next to the smaller Granada Hotel has given them a tourist bump in recent years.
Named for the Spanish missionary Junípero Serra, the hotel project and adjoining Garden Street Terraces development are expected to open sometime this year and with many more rooms than the jewelers’ current neighbors.
In short, while Morro has been a nice quiet street for artisans, Garden is ready to bloom. Baxter added, “It’s all small business, no corporate chains on Garden.”
Matt and Matt plan to pick up the keys to their new space sometime this week and be open with minimal lag time sometime in February.
The pair has worked together since 2002 and everything on display in their small show room is of their own design and making. Although pieces can range from a $120 trinket to a $25,000 showpiece, their real bread and butter has been in commissioned work.
Far from what Hamilton dealt in with vintage and consignment pieces, Baxter Moerman’s clients look for something a little more modern, bring in stones from older pieces to have placed in new designs or, more often these days, bring in a smart phone with a Pinterest account called up to with their fiancé’s engagement ideas.
Doubtless part of the attraction is their commitment to ethical sourcing, emphasized via their support for the Ethical Metalsmiths and Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), “two organizations who raise awareness and activate real change that leads to responsible mining and supply chain transparency.”
Their designs are crafted with recycled 18K gold and platinum, ethically sourced gemstones, and certified conflict-free diamonds.
While that’s all going to stay the same, they have taken on a new goldsmith to help meet the workload of the much larger showroom.
“He’s excellent, very excited to have him. We just clicked,” said Moerman. “You can’t plan these things it just work out. Just like Keith coming to us about the space. We hadn’t been looking for a new person and triple the space but it all fit.”
Until they transition in February, which will take about a week, their work is still on display at 1118 Morro St. Call 801-9117 to learn more about what they do.
