How CMD Found Its Home in
Asbury Park, New Jersey

After almost 16 years in business, I packed up the San Francisco chapter of CMD and came home to New Jersey. I didn't know exactly what our Asbury Park chapter would become yet, but looking back more than five years later, I can say this little city turned out to be exactly where we belonged.

For those of you who are newer to CMD, a little backstory. It was never part of my original plan for CMD to have its own storefront. But after years of living in San Francisco and riding my bike through the same intersection of 25th and Valencia Streets, the space that eventually became our SF Shop sort of fell into my lap.

Opening that brick-and-mortar was a huge leap of faith, and the payoff was so much bigger than I imagined. It gave me a way to bring the design studio and showroom together and, even more importantly, created a place where I could actually sit down with the people wearing my work. I loved being part of the Mission merchant community, and San Francisco will always be an enormous part of the CMD story.
 

Coming Home to New Jersey

Then 2020 changed just about everything. When retail businesses closed that March, our small team figured out how to meet with customers virtually. What started as a necessity ended up teaching me something important: the connection I loved having with customers wasn't dependent on everyone being in the same city. We could talk jewelry, experiment with stacks and work through meaningful pieces together from almost anywhere.

By September, I knew I was ready to move back East permanently. I grew up in New Jersey, and being closer to my family and the rest of the CMD team felt increasingly important. I closed the San Francisco shop and found a beautiful, light-filled space in the Bond Street Offices of Asbury Park.

I was immediately drawn to Asbury Park's creative energy. It reminded me a little of the San Francisco I fell in love with when I was getting CMD started in the early 2000s. There were artists, independent businesses, interesting people making interesting things and, bonus points, the ocean was right down the street.
 

What Our Asbury Park Studio Has Become

When I originally moved into the Bond Street space, I wasn't even able to invite you inside. I was still meeting customers virtually and imagining what this next version of CMD might eventually look like. Today, that same space has become The CMD Shop & Studio, where I get to do so many of the things I loved about having a physical space in San Francisco, but in a way that feels much more like the business we've grown into.

You can meet with me here for in-person appointments, come talk through a Reconstruction or custom jewelry project, build the ring stack you've been dreaming about or shop CMD in person. We also open our doors for scheduled Open Hours and Pop-Up Events, when walk-ins are welcome and you can come play with jewelry without an appointment.

And if you're nowhere near New Jersey, that's completely fine. Virtual appointments never went away. They've become one of my favorite ways to work with people all over the country, especially on Reconstruction and custom projects where distance really is a non-issue.
 

Designed in Asbury Park, Handmade in Upstate New York

CMD looks a little different today than it did when I wrote this post in 2021. We're a small, all-female team, with the design side of the business rooted here in Asbury Park and our jewelry handmade in our Upstate New York production studio. What started more than two decades ago at my bench has grown and changed plenty of times, but making things thoughtfully and building real relationships with the people who wear them is still at the center of everything we do.

There are pieces of San Francisco I'll probably miss forever, but Asbury Park feels like home now. I love that this studio has become a place where old jewelry gets taken apart and given a completely new life, future heirlooms begin as sketches, stacks get built and rebuilt, and people can actually come sit across from me while we figure out what they want to wear next.

If you're nearby, book an appointment or check our latest Open Hours and Event Schedule and come say hello. I'd love to have you here.
 

Here’s to finding home in unexpected places,
Colleen

© Colleen Mauer Designs. All rights reserved.
Published: January 14, 2021
Updated: August 19, 2026