Workshifter spoke with Marina Pilibosian Bozabalian from Birmingham Jewelry about her family’s story and five decades of growth a Birmingham Jewelry.
PLEASE TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THE FAMILY
I grew up in this business. My father, Gregory Pilibosian started Birmingham Jewelry in 1975. He was and is a maser jewelry designer whose business grew because his beautiful work needed enough room for display – so a small company grew and 49 years later, we’ve grown into a thriving family-owned business in Sterling Heights.
Today we are successful because of my parents – my mother is like the heart of the business – my father is the soul. Of course, I am now part of the business as well as my husband. He focuses on what I call new technology and innovative jewelry design. I think we are unique because we marry old world craftsmanship with new world technology, all for the satisfaction of our customers,
WORKING IN A FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS MUST BE UNIQUE – WHAT’S IT LIKE?
The great thing is we each have our own niche. I am a graduate gemologist certified by the Gemological Institute of America, which means I can tell you a lot about gemstones, diamonds – allowing me to do appraisals and work one on one with clients. My husband is a jewelry designer who uses new technology. My father is in his workshop where he does a lot of work by hand – he is such a craftsman. And my mother might be on the sales floor or working on our accounting. It is great that we all have our own area of expertise and responsibility.
Without all of us doing what we do, the business can’t really function properly. So, we know that, and we know that we need each other. And when we come home, we come home as a family and not as business partners, keeping a healthy balance and respect for each other.
My mom is such a strong and beautiful woman. She wants the best for everyone, works very hard, and really grounds us all. She also has a great background in the industry including degrees from the Gemological Institute of America.
My dad is an incredible story. At the age of 13 as his father was losing his eyesight, he had to find a way to provide for his mother and family in Syria. He shadowed one of his father’s friends who was a jeweler and started what would become the family business. By the age of 17 he was working full-time as a jeweler. Years later he landed a job in France with Chanel, and later moved to Michigan where Birmingham jewelry was born. All of it founded on craftsmanship and hard work – it reminds me of the value of him working with his hands.
HOW DO THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN AND THE YOUNG TECHNOLGY WORK TOGETHER?
The great thing about it is they help each other. For example, if we start with a client consultation, my husband or my father might start some work – my Dad might sketch a design by hand or my husband may use a technology design tool to produce something like a 3D rendering. The great thing is how that tech-generated sketch or a 3D mold will be sent to my father who will then build something by hand – it can go from new to old technology.
In that way, the two designers complement each other and our client ends up with something unique and beautiful.
HOW ARE YOU MANAGING A DECADES-OLD BUSINESS IN TODAY’S WORLD
Well technology is certainly different. For example, I manage all of our social media, but I try to do it in a way that still gives people a personal approach. My goal is never to send automated messages, but to respond personally. Technology can make us more connected, not less. As an example, we use a texting platform where you can send a message and it goes directly to all of our phones. For customers who have immediate questions or problems that need to be addressed right away, we need to be the on-call Jewelers.
We take this approach because our customers are involved in high-stakes events in their lives – like weddings. What we do for them is very important, so we take our role in it seriously.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO BE CREATING THINGS THAT GET PASSED ON TO YOUNGER GENERATIONS?
We know that what we do for clients is important to them. After all, we create heirlooms – objects that get passed to the next generation. This is why our mission is to provide the best quality possible. It has to be good enough to be passed down generation to generation. We do our best to hand pick everything, to make sure it is the best, to make sure the customer feels that whatever they imagined is what we want to provide.
We want our jewelry to be shared among the generations of the families that we serve. I have experienced this myself: when I was a little girl growing up in this business, there were customers who knew me – and their grandchildren are now my customers.
SOUNDS LIKE YOUR COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMERS IS MORE THAN BUSINESS
Yes, we strive to always offer great personal service – and to remember that the people we serve have become our family and friends.
And so, with that in mind, we make sure their jewelry holds. We want them telling their friends and family about us, telling their son it’s time for you to start looking at engagement rings. “Go to my jeweler, Birmingham Jewelry.”
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