Queen’s Gifts rises to gold-level status with Pandora, plans party Saturday
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Queen's Gifts has expanded its offerings of Pandora jewelry. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Disney charms are now available in the Pandora line at Queen's Gifts in Salisbury. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
The Disney charms are available from Pandora Gold level sellers. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
JON C. LAKEY / SALISBURY POST The Disney charms are avallable from Pandora Gold level sellers. Queen's Gift Shoppe recently aquired an new level in the world of sales in the Pandora jewerly. The Salisbury boutique reached the Gold level which entitles the store to sell more Pandora products that are only availble in some stores. Monday, March 13, 2017, in Salisbury, N.C.
Taylor Rogers reaches into the case with the Pandora birthstone rings and necklaces at Queen's Gifts.Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
The Queen's Gifts staff includes, from left, Sarah Sloop, Susanna Hollingsworth, Jane Crosby and Taylor Rogers. Submitted photo
By Mark Wineka
mark.wineka@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — About 14 years ago, Jane Wise Crosby, owner of Queen’s Gifts, took a chance on what was to her an unknown jewelry line.
To become a Pandora retailer, Crosby had to make a $10,000 investment, knowing she would be only the fourth store in North Carolina selling this particular jewelry. Crosby couldn’t shake how much she liked the company’s silver charm bracelets.
“You just have to go with your gut,” Crosby says.
It proved to be one of her wisest business moves. Based on annual sales, Queen’s has now become a gold-level Pandora dealer. That broadens the store’s Pandora offerings, which are exclusive in Rowan County.
To celebrate its new status, Queen’s is throwing a premiere party from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the store, 221 S. Main St.
Customers who buy $125 or more of Pandora jewelry Saturday will receive a $65 sterling silver bracelet as a gift.
To bump up to a $100 bracelet under the special offer, the customer would pay only the $35 difference.
The premiere party will include giveaways, food and drink.
Queen’s now sells Pandora bracelets, rings (including birthstones), earrings, necklaces and pendants in both gold and silver. The jewelry is handcrafted and contemporary. Stones are hand-set.
The gold level also means Queen’s will now offer Disney icon gift sets.
Founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1982, Pandora jewelry is manufactured in Thailand and sold in 100 countries over six continents.
While the Pandora charms and bracelets will always be popular — “each bracelet tells a story of your life,” employee Susanna Hollingsworth says — “we certainly are selling more and more rings and earrings,” Crosby adds.
A middle section of the Queen’s store is dedicated to Pandora, down to the custom Pandora display cabinets and the “Pandora white” paint on the walls.
Crosby has owned Queen’s Gifts for 20 years, and she has been at the current location, once the Trexler’s men’s clothing store, for 10. Queen’s is one of the older downtown businesses. It previously was at 105-A N. Main St. and 125 S. Main St. (now Critters).
Crosby might not be your typical shop owner. She has an undergraduate degree from Duke University in public policy and religion and a master’s degree in marketing and operations from Wake Forest University. Her business aspirations led her to downtown Salisbury two decades ago.
“It’s been a fun journey,” she says.
Crosby’s staff includes Hollingsworth, Sarah Sloop and Taylor Rogers. She says it’s a comfortable shop, not a sterile mall or shopping center store.
“We’re definitely hands-on,” Crosby says.
“People appreciate the warm, personal service,” Hollingsworth says. “… There’s really something for everyone here.”
Queen’s carries several other jewelry lines, including Earth Grace, Waxing Poetic, and Lenny and Eva. The shop is filled with gifts and home decor and does a good business with items such as Simply Southern T-shirts, Vera Bradley and Scout bags, Tyler candles, Rainbows, Happy Everything and Raz Imports.
The staff says they are selling more wine, beer and gourmet food accessories in recent years, and customers seek Queen’s out for wedding and baby gifts, among other things. When possible, Crosby keeps going with her instincts, looking for handcrafted N.C. items.
The store’s hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. There is extra parking in the back of the store, and entrances both front and back. The store has both a website and Facebook page.
Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.
