Small Business Saturday Profile: SKM Jewelers

Nestled in Framingham Centre is a gem of a jewelry and accessory store, owned by Framingham resident Susan Karten Mancall.

SKM Jewelers has the perfect necklace, scarf or accessory to update your wardrobe. The small business at 937B Worcester Road is the perfect store to do your holiday shopping for any teen girl or woman on your list.

This weekend, all jewelry is 30 percent off.

Mancall started SKM Jewelers in 2002, but didn’t open a brick and mortar location until last fall. The accessories boutique celebrated its one year anniversary in October.

Mancall knows jewelry. Her family owner Karten’s Jewelry until it was sold to the Zale Corporation in the 1990s. Karten’s Jewelers was founded in 1945 by the late Louis Karten.

She started her business selling jewelry at hospitals and shows.

She still continues to do major events like Shecky’s Girls Night Out and major Boston events. Next month, she will have a booth at the 10th Annual Massachusetts Conference for Women in Boston next month, where Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the featured speaker.

Everything in the Framingham store is priced under $100.

Mancall travels to New York City to purchase jewelry and accessories for her shows and her store weekly.

For that reason, the store is always different, when you visit.

Don’t expect to find a dozen of one necklace or a couple dozen of the same bracelet. There are few duplicate items in the store.

“I always wanted to open a boutique store,” said Mancall. “Retail is in my blood.”

One section of the Framingham boutique store is a version of “updated classics” said Mancall.

“They look like they could be real jewels or made of 14K gold or sterling,” but they are affordable, said Mancall.

The boutique has an eclectic selection of fashion and trendy jewelry in various metals, too.

“Mixed metals are selling very well,” said Mancall. “They go well with everything you already own. You don’t have to worry can I wear gold or silver with this.”

In Boston, at her shows, Mancall says she sells a lot of the big, bold statement necklaces, but she said locally many of her shoppers are looking for layering pieces and updated classics to add to their collections.

Mancall said fringe jewelry is very trendy right now.

“Fashion jewelry is fun and affordable here,” said Mancall. Many of those jewelry pieces are priced under $50.

During Small Business Saturday (today, Nov. 29) and on Sunday, jewelry is 30 percent off. Today is the 5th Annual Small Business Saturday nationally.

One new item to the store selling briskly is ponchos ($45), said Mancall.

Other accessories that have been hard to keep in stock are texting gloves and fingerless hand warmers. The texting gloves are $10 on Small Business Saturday.

Mancall said ever since she added scarves to the store, they have been selling well. This weekend, most scarves are 2 for $25 or 1 for $15.

“Infinity scarves continue to be popular,” said Mancall. ”Fur is very trendy right now too.”

There are scarves in every color, fabric, and texture to choose from.

“We really are not a jewelry store anymore,” said Mancall. “There is a wide selection of fun and affordable, accessories here.”

The store is open today, Saturday, from 9 to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

If you stop in, tell them you heard about them from Framingham Patch.