SPECIAL REPORT: Surviving the First Year — Blake Jewelers in Township 5, Camillus

By Mary Beth Roach

Entrepreneurship is booming, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report issued in February.

This trend includes several new entrepreneurs profiled here who have opened their businesses within the last year in Onondaga and Oswego counties.

They have traveled very different paths to start their respective businesses and while they may have experienced some trepidation doing their journeys, their passion overrode any nervousness.

They share their stories with us — some of the surprises, good and bad — that came up, some of their marketing strategies for their start-ups; and resources they have found helpful.

Blake Jewelers in Township 5, Camillus

Stephanie Pullano: Life Experiences Blend to Create Business

Stephanie Pullano has blended life experiences together to open Blake Jewelers in Township 5 in Camillus in November of 2023.

She noted that with a degree in fine arts, blended with a background in jewelry repair casting and retail management — and a love of jewelry — have all blended together to shape “her entrepreneurial aspirations.”

Returning to her native Rochester from North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic, she became reacquainted with Blake Shelhamer, also from Rochester, who has built the eponymous business in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area.

She said that she and Shelhamer “shared a mutual vision and collaborated” to open the store and as it is located near Costco in Camillus, she is “leveraging high foot traffic and visibility,” she explained.

The store offers customers the ability to create their own engagement and wedding bands, utilizing a step-by-step process on the in-store computer or online. The online option allows Blake Jewelers to truly expand its customer base, since Pullano can ship anywhere in the U.S.

“This interactive experience empowers customers to design pieces that resonate with their personal style and love stories,” according to Pullano. “This approach not only ensures, but also aligns with the contemporary demand for ethical and sustainable options.”

Nearing the one-year anniversary of the store, Pullano said she’s adjusting to what she calls “retail life,” learning the ebb and flow of business and that certain months will be better than others — all while balancing a work schedule that’s certainly not 9-to-5 with raising and home-schooling her 11-year-old daughter.

She explained her marketing strategies as a “mix,” utilizing traditional advertising, social media platforms, like Facebook and Google, the store’s loyalty program and the time-honored power of word-of-mouth.

“Successful bridal designs and prices are 70% off speak volumes,” she said.

In helping to get her started, Pullano credits resources available through the Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College and the Women’s WISE Business Center, which also set her up for a local grant, which she said “facilitated the venture’s inception.”

Moving forward, she is planning on expanding the retail space, offering more inventory, especially, for the holidays and enhancing the do-it-yourself model for customers that would allow them to create more individualized pieces and reinforce what Pullano called “the store’s ethos of personalized service.”