Invisible Business: Crystal Gallery and Engraving

With a tiny engraving tool in her hand, Laureen Crisafulli meticulously engraves initials on a silver jewelry box and proceeds to polish the heirloom piece. "It's a dying art," Crisafulli said of hand engraving.

The former graphic artist decided to open Crystal Gallery and Engraving on Roadside Drive nine years ago after working out of her home studio.

Crisafulli hand-engraves names, dates or whatever the client requests on such items as jewelry, wine bottles, glassware and wedding mementos . For bulk orders, such as corporate giveaways, she uses another engraving method called sandblasting that involves the creation of a stencil to duplicate an artwork or logo for a uniform look.

Over the years, she has hand engraved such unusual items as flagpoles for firefighter memorials, Harley Davidson parts, steering wheels, guitars and other musical instruments,  firearms and knives. 

Crisafulli's reach extends beyond Agoura Hills. Customers send her items needing engraving from all the United States.

Business comes from near and far because a good engraver is hard to find. Most of Crisafulli's competitors are retired. Machine engravers in the area refer their impossible jobs to her.

"I can engrave anything onto anything," she explained.

Around Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the store delivers free-of-charge in most cases. "We work with each customer to create exactly what they have dreamed up. I think that's where our strength lies—customer service," Crisafulli said. The store also gets a considerable amount of last-minute requests and can always pull it off.

Aside from offering engraving services, the store also sells items such as Waterford crystal, Tyrone crystal, sterling silver jewelry and estate pieces.

Crisafulli devotes about 55 hours a week to the store, and has four employees on her payroll. During the holidays and whenever there are large orders to fulfill, her daughter also lends a hand. 

Husband Dan helps out by encouraging his corporate clients to place engraving orders. "He's been so helpful all these years, cheering me on and encouraging my creative side," Crisafulli said.

She says she gets many of her ideas from all the classes she's taken—metal shop in high school, jewelry engraving at Stockton Jewelry Arts School and sign painting classes at West Valley Occupational Center, on top of her bachelor of arts degree from UCLA.

"When I find a good class with an innovative teacher, it can be so inspiring," she said.

When it came time to open her own store, Crisafulli purchased equipment—the air graver, the sandblaster and rotary hand pieces—a little at a time.

She also spent years studying different business models, picking best practices and emulating other independent businesses like hers. She opts to keep her inventory low but fresh, noting that regulars instantly recognize the arrival of new merchandise.

When the economic recession hit, the store's corporate clients were the first to cut back on their spending. The gravity of the situation hit her one morning as she was watching the "Today Show." She had found out that a major corporation was canceling its annual meeting in Las Vegas. "And we were supposed to be providing all the corporate gifts!"

Not one to dwell on an unfortunate event, she focused on the marketing aspect of the business. Crisafulli built the store's website by herself, explored online advertising, networked tirelessly and continued to attend trade shows.  As of late, she has noticed that about 80 percent of the store's business comes from clients who have found her website through search engines.  The remaining 20 percent are referrals from satisfied clients and fellow engravers.

Crisafulli cites all the extra classes, trade shows, research and mentors over the years as the ingredients for a successful business endeavor.

"We are fortunate that people are still getting married, having babies and celebrating other accomplishments," Crisafulli said. "We like helping them transform the simplest item into a treasured heirloom by adding that name, initial or date to the item and making it unique."