Photo Credit: Lauren Miller
Chris Jensen, owner of C3 Designs jewelry (2110 10th Ave., South Milwaukee), celebrates pride every day of the year. “When I opened C3 Designs 15 years ago, I wanted to make sure to welcome the gay community I was a part of,” says Jensen who maintains a section of pride-related pieces at the front of his store all year long. “It is very important to our staff that, whoever you are, you feel comfortable shopping in our store,” he adds.
You’re the official Pridefest jeweler, creating the medals Pridefest annually awards to supporters of the LGBTQ community? C3 Designs has rented a booth on the Pridefest grounds for the past 15 years.
We specialize in one-of-a-kind handcrafted designs and making customized pieces for our clientele. I design and handcraft the jewelry we sell, working in gold and silver with every sort of gemstone found in the earth.
You recently won a first-place CASE Award sponsored by the Jewelers of America. The winning earrings, made of sterling silver and 14K yellow gold accented with bezel set rainbow topaz cabochon, London Blue Topaz and diamonds, helped put Milwaukee jewelry artists on the national map.
For me, as a jewelry designer, it is the equivalent of winning an Oscar. This win also qualifies me for the international competition held in Hong Kong in 2021. We celebrated our win with a party at my store where we rolled out the red carpet and had food and drinks for our friends, family and our extended family—the clients who have shopped with us over the years.
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Word-of-mouth recommendations and returning clientele are necessities to C3 Designs, but building relationships with customers is truly the business’ key to success. My philosophy is to treat our clients like family. We create treasured heirlooms for some of the most important occasions in [their] lives. I have been fortunate enough to design jewelry for multiple generations of people in the same family. We know our clients’ kids, parents, grandkids, cousins and so on.
After 15 years, one of your successes was creating an inviting environment.
Our store has a very relaxed atmosphere. My husband and I adopted four kids, and the little ones are often at the store, adding to our family friendly environment. Gay, straight, yellow or purple, you're family at C3 Designs.”
For more information, visit C3designs.rocks.
