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Cain has owned Femmegems, a custom jewelry boutique in Greenwich, Conn., for the past 10 years. Customers can come in and design their own necklaces, bracelets and other sparkly accessories.
“One day one of my customers asked, ‘Why can’t we do [jewelry-making] parties for kids?’ ” Cain said. “I thought that there was enough demand and I should explore a kids business.”
Cain rented a room next to her Greenwich Femmegems store, 89 Greenwich Ave., and the new endeavor was off and running, boasting two to three parties each weekend.
“When the lease was up on that space we started looking around,” Cain said. “I’m a Bedford resident, so I thought, why not do it for the kids in my area?”
Cain found a space on the east end of Scotts Corners at 40 Westchester Ave. and dubbed it Sparklers Design Studio.
“Greenwich is so expensive,” she said. “This spot is nicely located between New Canaan and Bedford.”
Cain held her grand opening a couple of weeks ago, and the place was packed.
“We were jammed in here,” she said. “I have a database of more than 400 moms from all over, and I let them all know about it.”
She has had several more events since then.
“We had a father/daughter Valentine event,” she said. “There were 10 guys hanging out and 10 girls bouncing all around making jewelry. It was very cute. When the guys first got here, they didn’t know what to do – they were just standing around. After a while, they got into it. It’s a good example of one of our special events.”
The special events often have themes like the Valentine’s party, but Cain said that one of the favorites is the “red carpet runway show.”
“They come in and wear these wigs and hats and get dressed up,” she said. “The girls go bananas. We take pictures like we’re the paparazzi. Then we create an online photo album and send it to the kids’ parents.”
Besides special events and parties, Sparklers will have drop-off design time during after-school hours.
“They can come and have a snack and make a bracelet,” Cain said.
Cain said that what sets her Pound Ridge store apart from similar businesses is that she provides quality components for the children to work with.
“Other places that do this sort of thing water it down with cheap, plastic beads,” she said. “But we have ‘big girl’ jewelry – real stones. It’s not disposable. The moms are sort of shocked by it when they come in and see it.”
Cain says the future looks bright for Sparklers – several parties already have been booked for March. She is also planning “mini-camps” during school vacations in which parents can book their daughters for three-day programs with regular drop-off hours. While jewelry-making will be a big part of the camps, Cain says there will be other activities and plenty of music by today’s biggest pop stars for the kids to groove to.
To learn more, visit the Sparklers website or call Cain at 914-764-9100.
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