One way to continue the "shop local" and "shop small business" initiative that was encouraged on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is to visit Downtown's jewelry stores.
Some of the longest-standing businesses in the city, they are locally owned and operated.
Jacobs Jewelers has been in business Downtown since 1890 and is located along Laura Street in the Greenleaf & Crosby Building, which was developed in the 1920s by what was at the time Florida's largest jewelry company.
Barnett Jewelers at Wells Fargo Center has been selling fine jewelry in the iconic office tower since it opened in 1974 as the Independent Life Building.
The business started Downtown in 1917 when founder W.G. Ferrell sold his wife's hand-strung beaded jewelry from the back of his bicycle. The name changed soon after World War II when Oscar Barnett settled in Jacksonville and married Ferrell's daughter. He eventually took over the business, where the fifth generation of the family works today.
Michelle Rhoades-Jones opened Hana & Her Sister at the Landing more than 20 years ago. She started with a small store, but now is in the space that originally was the Banana Republic when the riverfront mall opened in 1987.
9904) 356-2466