Pivoting & A Whole New Way to Connect

In the spring of 2020, CMD entered a completely new way of working. Our San Francisco shop had temporarily closed, gathering in person wasn’t possible, and I needed to figure out how to keep connecting with customers without being in the same room.

What began as a practical solution ended up changing the business in a much more lasting way. Six years later, virtual appointments are still an important part of how I work with clients, particularly for Custom and Reconstruction projects.

Looking back, I had no idea that one of the strangest chapters in CMD history would teach me that some of the most personal jewelry conversations can happen from hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

It Started With a Sample Sale

Our annual Sample Sale had always been one of the biggest in-person events at the San Francisco shop. Customers would come in, try things on, build stacks, ask questions and spend time with me in a way that was difficult to replicate online.

Then suddenly, gathering together wasn’t an option.

Rather than cancel the event entirely, we began offering FaceTime shopping appointments and bringing the jewelry directly to people through a screen. I wasn’t sure whether those conversations would feel natural or personal, but I was surprised almost immediately by how well they worked.

Instead of standing across a jewelry case from someone, I was being invited into their homes. They could show me what they already owned, hold pieces up to the camera, try different combinations and talk through what they were drawn to. The format was different, but the connection was still there.

Jewelry Without the Geography

One of the biggest surprises was realizing how far those virtual conversations could take CMD. In a single week, I might be talking jewelry with someone in California, New York, Michigan or even France.

I wrote another blog at the time about where in the world those appointments were taking me, and I started to understand that geography didn’t have to determine who I could work with anymore.

That realization became even more meaningful after CMD relocated from San Francisco to Asbury Park. The business had changed geographically, but virtual appointments gave longtime West Coast clients and new customers everywhere a way to continue working with me directly.

Supporting Small Business From Afar

Another thing I remember so clearly from that time was how much small businesses were trying to support one another. Everyone was improvising, sharing each other's work and finding creative ways to remind people that the independent businesses they loved were still there, even if their doors were temporarily closed.

My friend and incredibly talented artist Mariana Prutton created this wonderful “Support Local Business” illustration featuring CMD alongside a few other independent businesses. I loved it then, and looking at it now brings me right back to that strange period when so many of us were figuring out how to stay connected from our homes.

That spirit of connection ended up being a much bigger part of CMD's survival than I could have understood at the time. Customers shared our work, friends and fellow small-business owners cheered us on, and people made a conscious effort to keep supporting the makers, artists, shops and restaurants they cared about. We were physically separated, but in some ways our creative community felt closer than ever.

What Started as a Pivot Became Part of CMD

At the time, I remember writing that CMD was “pivoting yet again,” which felt like the unofficial small-business motto of 2020. We were figuring everything out as we went, and I assumed many of those temporary solutions would disappear once life returned to something more familiar.

This one didn’t.

Today, working virtually is especially valuable for Reconstruction. Someone can be hundreds or thousands of miles away and still sit down with me, pull out jewelry that has been tucked away for years and start talking about what it might become.

We can look at stones together, talk through metal options, discuss design direction and go through the history attached to each piece. Clients can send detailed photographs ahead of time, and once we understand what we’re working with, the physical jewelry can be safely shipped to us for evaluation and production.

For work that begins with family jewelry, old wedding rings or pieces carrying a lot of emotional history, that accessibility matters. You don’t need to live near Asbury Park or wait for me to travel to your city in order to start the conversation.

Virtual Doesn't Mean Impersonal

I think that was the part that surprised me most. Jewelry is intimate, especially when we’re talking about heirlooms, milestone pieces or something connected to a person you love. I once assumed those conversations needed to happen face-to-face, but experience has taught me otherwise.

Sometimes being at home actually makes the conversation easier. You have your jewelry box nearby. You can pull out another ring you forgot to mention, show me the piece your grandmother wore, or grab the stack you wear every day so we can talk about how a new design might fit into it.

The screen eventually disappears into the background. What matters is that we’re looking at the same pieces, asking the right questions and figuring out what feels meaningful to you.

In Person or Virtual, the Process Starts the Same Way

These days, I love being able to offer both. Some clients come see me at The CMD Shop & Studio in Asbury Park, join me during Open Hours or Pop-Ups, or connect with me while I’m traveling. Others work with me entirely from home.

Either way, the beginning is the same: you show me what you have, tell me what you love, tell me what isn’t working anymore, and we start imagining possibilities.

If you’ve been holding onto jewelry you’re ready to see differently, distance truly is a non-issue. You can book a virtual or in-person appointment when you’re ready to begin, or start with a complimentary 15-minute consultation if you simply want to talk through what you have first.

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

 

A Whole New World, Indeed

I never would have chosen the circumstances that pushed CMD into virtual appointments, but I’m grateful for what they taught me. Some of the most useful changes in this business have started with a problem I needed to solve, followed by a willingness to try something unfamiliar.

When I look back at everything that changed for CMD in 2020, this is one of the experiments I’m most grateful we kept. More than two decades into CMD, I’m still finding new ways to connect with people and make this work more personal. The tools have changed, the locations certainly have, and the business looks very different than it did when I was standing behind the counter in San Francisco.

The part that matters most, though, is exactly the same. Jewelry gives us a reason to sit down together, tell stories and create something meaningful from wherever we happen to be.

Here’s to meeting each other wherever we are,
Colleen

© Colleen Mauer Designs. All rights reserved.
Published: May 19, 2020
Updated: August 26, 2026