In this picture Janet is looking through her magnifier to identify and grade what kind the colored stone she is looking at.
Janet Dunayevich
Co-owner of L&Z Jewelry and Gifts
Janet Dunayevich is the entrepreneur that I interviewed for our class project. Janet is a gemologist and co- owner of a business. She owns L & Z Jewelry and Gifts with Laura Itkin. Not only is Laura her business partner, she is also Janet’s sister. Janet is my aunt and Laura is my mother. When asking her about working with a partner, she says likes being able to work with family, owning a family business. Janet is able to put trust into her easily, and that’s what a lot of partnerships lack. “Personally I don’t believe in partnership but with family it’s different.” Janet and her sister travel throughout the world with their business. They do local jewelry and antique shows, specializing in the most unique and beautiful jewelry. Recently, L & Z opened up their first boutique. Their office, located in Farmington Hills, is by appointment only but has open houses for holidays and special events. Their office has gifts for anybody, ranging in home ware to jewelry to scarves and accessories. Janet likes to compare their office to a European boutique, equipped with espresso machine and biscotti. It is in her office where she can really get to know customers and help them with whatever questions they may have. When Janet is not in her office, she is usually on the road. Her and her sister have traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States with their business. Traveling with the business has created some great friendships and even better experiences. Janet loves to travel, and if she didn’t, she would not be able to enjoy her job as much. She says she doesn’t work a real job, “with your own business, its never a 9-5.” She works very long hours all the time, whether it be at home or on the road. The long hours don’t get to Janet’s head; she adores her job. She loves working with jewelry and being in the jewelry industry. Janet goes on to say that the jewelry industry is so “pleasant.” She loves having the ability to share her passion and knowledge with customers. Whether it is selling a new item or fixing an old piece, she loves seeing the joy it brings to a customer. She says, “business is much more than buying and selling, it is creating lasting friendships, relationships, and bonds.” Owning her own business is not something she always had in mind though, she originally aspired to be a civil engineer. Although her initial career choice has nothing to do with jewelry, she always had a fascination with it. When Janet was growing up she spent hours watching jewelers and matchmakers through the windows of their shops in amazement. It was in college when she took a metal-smithing and jewelry class, where she discovered jewelry was her passion. She started educating herself from then on. Her and her sister were and still are constantly educating themselves. They attend jewelry classes, seminars, and take classes through the Gemological Institute of America. Janet has earned the title of Graduate Gemologist, the most “prestigious and coveted professional credential.” With this title, Janet can a buy and appraise across the entire gem and jewelry industry. She can also identify hundreds of common and unusual gemstones, detect the latest treatments and synthetics, buy and sell diamonds and colored stones, and share the history of her products. http://www.gia.edu/educational-programs/programs/gemology/graduate-gemologist/index.html I personally am working toward receiving this credential, and am so proud that Janet has achieved this goal. L&Z also travel all over the world to discover new things happening with the industry, incorporating it in their business. In 1981, Janet and her sister rented a small booth at a jewelry exchange in Warren, Michigan. It was there when Janet first befriended a European gentleman who was major wholesaler of Italian jewelry. It was he who realized her potential and opened a credit line for Janet and Laura. They began receiving all kinds of merchandise and that’s when the business started to grow Currently, most of their merchandise comes from Europe. All of the Coral and cameos come from Italy. The antique and estate jewelry comes through local probate and auctions. their business took a lot of trial and error but every business does, and according to Janet it was all worth it. When asking her where she saw her business in ten years, she had a few responses. She is definitely not looking to open up any store but is interested in opening up another European type boutique office in Florida, where she plans to retire. She also sees ME joining the jewelry industry, coming in with fresh ideas to contribute to the business.
A small collection of the kind of things you can find at their office.
An entire wall full of qualifications from the Gemological Institute of America.
