This transformation will enhance the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains and reflect the dazzling night sky. "Our unique moments of wonder inspire visitors to experience the outdoors like never before. "We are excited to collaborate with Anakeesta, this momentous partnership marks the first Lumina Enchanted Night Walk in the United States and the 15th of an international series," said Jonathan St-Onge, General Manager of Moment Factory. Moment Factory's award-winning experiences are internationally known and have been commissioned by organizations such as the Singapore Zoo with Rainforest Lumina and the town of Whistler, Canada with Vallea Lumina. Tweet thisĪnakeesta will transform an undeveloped section of the 80+ acre park into an outdoor, multi-media world that awakens the imagination as described by the creative production studio. Come by to see us some time.Anakeesta announces Lumina Enchanted Night Walk experience the first one in the U.S and is slated to open this fall. Here's your chance to say whatever you like to Meet the Jewelers.Īlways listen to your gut and don't be influenced by shady people. We try to treat everybody as fair and as truthful as possible. A lot of times, we'll take estate jewelry that's been beat up, and we’ll repurpose that, re-texture, try to bring it up to a more modern look.Īnd building that trust and reputation, what does that mean to you?
The biggest part of our business is estate jewelry. A lot of lariat-style necklaces seem to be selling. That's what I normally recommend because they're a little harder, and their wearability is a little better. We're doing a lot of things with colored stones, mainly sapphires. We're getting away from your traditional engagement ring, too. People are going back to gold in our area, especially textured gold, brush gold, mixing gold with rose gold, a lot of mixed metal. What makes your store cool, and what are the trends you have now? And then we're also going to start carrying Orbita Watch Winders, which is a local Wilmington company as well. We also have Sylvia Benson-she does a lot of gold over brass. It's nothing like anything else I've ever seen. There's one piece in particular-it’s a Montana sapphire that's cut like a fan and has a halo of diamonds. I have another friend named Clay Zava, who is another amazing award-winning cutter. His name’s Chris Wolfsberg, he’s amazing. Every year, he goes to Tucson and buys all this rough and cuts them. Love sapphires, especially Montana sapphires. What are three or four pieces that stand out? We give a percentage of everything we sell from certain lines to Dreams. It's a place for them to go after school and stay out of trouble and focus on art, whatever they want to do, whether it be photography, painting, guitar lessons, whatever. I'd say it's similar to Boys and Girls Club, but it focuses more on the visual and performing arts for underprivileged kids. We give back to this organization called Dreams of Wilmington. Tell us some key ones you want our audience to know about. There's eight different designers that I'll be featuring, from gemstone cutters to gold and silver designers, watch-winder makers.
We're going to offer a local section in our new store. Why should I come and be part of your experience at Lumina? The caliber of people that I have working with me as far as sales and product knowledge really helps. We offer people drinks and snacks to make them feel at home. We're very friendly, open, and welcoming. What's it like when somebody enters your store? I took the plunge in 2009 after I'd worked for a local retailer for about five years. We took what he already had and created this business. They partnered me with a guy that already had a business, and he was taking his business over from his father. At the time, GIA offered a business module that included entrepreneurship, marketing, and management. People are always asking me about gemstones and diamonds. I also went to GIA after that because I didn't know anything about gemstones. From there, I took a couple courses at Pemlin, which involved stone setting, mechanisms, building hinges, clasps, doing granular, forging, forming. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from East Carolina.
How did you get your start, and where are you now?