Observations of trends brought about a change of locations once again, as well as a name-change. Harold purchased a building on East Dixie from First Citizen’s Bank in 1985. Priddy Jewelers was appropriately chosen as the name since jewelry repair had become Wes’s area of expertise. Even in those early days, I saw many folks come into the shop because they knew that they could trust these two men to take care of their personal jewelry and watches. Soon they were selling a modest amount of jewelry to their customers as well.
Then it was back to a one-man operation when Harold decided to retire in 1996. Wes had already had so much increase in his workload that he needed to find a solution. Jonathan Myers learned jewelry repair, apprentice-style for a few months, and decided that this wasn’t the career for him. Mike Moats, who was a trusted friend and award-winner in the realm of welding, decided to delve into learning the craft of jewelry repair in the spring of 1998. I have heard Wes say numerous times that he was able to do the work himself previously, but Mike is extremely gifted. We consider Mike to be a blessing to us from God as he has been an excellent jeweler and a great asset to the business.
Priddy Jewelers made another location change as the marketplace changed. We found a home in Helmwood Plaza in November, 1998. During the 20 years that the business was there, our children grew up as an integral part of the business. They were educated in business and customer service. I can remember that some customers would come in and request some of them by name to receive assistance. Carla Taul, Cathy Priddy, Ben Priddy, Lauren Pace, and Dawn Moore were thus, all part of growing the business. During those years, our daughter-in-law, Stephanie (Leroux) Priddy and Mandy Magers, made significant contributions, as did Abi (Myers) Koch.
