A Baltimore-based jewelry shop is getting noticed. Vintage Stamp Jewels, a family-owned business, which sells a brand of Simply Beautiful jewelry that was featured over the Mother’s Day holiday in May at Macy’s iconic Herald Square location in New York, continues to make a name for itself.
Shane and Monica Sisk
The owners, husband and wife team of Shane and Monica Sisk run their business from their backyard through the Etsy retail website.
“As you can imagine, being a small business operating out of our home, it was quite an honor to have been contacted not only by Macy’s in Herald Square but also in partnership with Etsy wholesale,” Shane Sisk said. “I think our first reaction was one of complete shock and once we picked ourselves up off of the floor, we were of course beyond excited. That feeling then was quickly replaced with a sense of urgency to prepare our company for its biggest opportunity to date.”
Since their beginning in 2011, Vintage Stamp Jewels has emerged as a top-selling Etsy Jewelry shop in Maryland. It’s rated the ninth best-selling jewelry shop in Etsy jewelry sales worldwide.
More recently, their pet lovers’ line of jewelry was displayed at the Nashville Agape Pet Rescue event.
The Sisk’s also collaborated with Lane Bryant, the San Francisco 49ers, Stephen Bishop’s Celebrity Golf Tournament and other organizations.
“We never imagined the small business we run from our home would have the opportunity to sell our simply beautiful jewelry at such a high-profile store like Macy’s in New York,” Sisk said. “While we are honored to have found success on a national level, Maryland is our home and we’re proud of our roots and find joy in giving back to our community and supporting local events.”
The company began with handmade necklaces crafted with vintage postage stamps, thus the name Vintage Stamp Jewels.
“I was pregnant with my third child and I desired to find an outlet for my creativity,” Monica Sisk said in a posting on the couple’s website. “While digging around in our 80-year-old house, I found a huge Tupperware, full to the brim, of vintage postage stamps. The collection was gathered by my late great grandmother and left to gather dust. I saw the beauty in the colors and history of the stamps and decided to create my first piece of jewelry.”
Macy’s has been trying out new moves to bring in new customers and keep up to date with changing shopping habits, according to a recent Forbes Magazine report.
So, in the recently renovated basement of its 1 million-square-foot store in New York, Macy’s in January opened a shop for Etsy, the online marketplace that specializes in homemade items and crafts.
The Etsy shop offers 57 products, including Vintage Stamp Jewels.
“What separates our products from the rest is clearly in two areas,” Shane Sisk said.
“Number one, our price points are for the everyday buyer. We have specifically priced items in such a way that they can be afforded by the bride who is on a budget or a child buying [a gift for his mother] or a husband looking to surprise his wife,” he said.
“Second, is our attention to detail when it comes to hand stamping each personalized item. Hand stamping itself is an art form and we pride ourselves in the ability of our workers to create items that are unique and as close to perfect for handmade items as possible.
“We are trying to erase the stigma that you have to go into high end stores to get quality jewelry. We are also trying to erase the stigma that handmade jewelry cannot be quality and professional,” Sisk said.
The couple hopes to establish relationships both with Macy’s and Etsy wholesale so that they may be able to continue to produce Simply Beautiful jewelry for a long time.
“The competition in the jewelry business as you can imagine is quite strong. However, we believe that that competition is even more prevalent in the Etsy Marketplace and in the local retail stores,” Sisk said. “For that reason we are continuing to develop our brand that is defined by quality affordable handmade jewelry with a commitment to excelling at customer service through clear and timely communication with every single buyer.”
To view their products, visit www.etsy.com/shop/vintagestampjewels.