Young jeweler carries on family tradition
By Erika B. Neldner
erikaneldner@ledgernews.com

When Jonathan Meadows makes a piece of jewelry for a customer, it’s an instant bond. His creations become a part of him and when he sees it come back in the store for a cleaning, it’s almost like a reunion.

“When you create something, I don’t know, I can’t really describe the connection,” Meadows said. “It’s almost exciting when I get to see a ring I make walk back in the door. It’s like, ‘oh, I missed you.’”

Meadows worked with his father, David Meadows, at Cherokee Jewelers (later renamed to David Douglas Diamonds and Jewelry) on Main Street just south of downtown Woodstock. When the building they were in was up for sale, they opted to move and open Jonathan & Company Jewelers. They relocated to the Parkside shopping center next to Woodstock City Park and opened the doors in November 2005.

(Right: Jonathan Meadows of Jonathan & Company Jewelers fires up the torch to melt down metal to create one of his character rings. The process starts with a wax mold and through a process consisting of plaster, high temperatures and a centrifugal force caster, a ring is made.)

Meadows, 26, is a fourth generation goldsmith. He started apprenticing with his father at 10 years old and created his first piece of jewelry, a pendant, at 14 years old.

“The first thing I learned how to do was inject waxes which eventually become gold rings,” Meadows said. “Pulling these waxes out of the mold with little fingers, you break them a lot. My dad gave me 30 cents for every good wax I could pull.”

The third of nine children, Meadows stayed by his father’s side watching and learning. It was a yearning to be with his father that got him in the business to start with.

“It really started as a desire to be with my father,” Meadows said of his venture as a young goldsmith. “I just loved being by his side. From there it turned into a love for the creation side of it.”

Through his apprenticeships with his father, uncle and grandfather, Meadows fell in love with the art and continues to enjoy creating unique jewelry designs. He tries to instill that love for jewelry in his customers.

“I’ve always like art as an expression of emotion,” Meadows said. “If you can connect jewelry and a customer on that level together, it’s a really neat thing to see that happen.”

While he enjoys working on jewelry in general, Meadows’ favorite part of the business is original designs.

One of his designs, a ring, resembles a knee brace, while another design looks much like a mythological dragon’s face. He intends to continue creating character rings to create an entire collection.

Meadows said he hopes he can be the one to continue to work on any of the pieces he makes because he has that connection with each piece he creates.

“If I make something for you, I hope that I always get to be the person to work on it,” Meadows said. “If something does happen or it needs something as simple as sized or, hopefully not, if you break the stone out of it, I want to be the person to take care of that.”

The Meadows work on a strong family tradition and that’s good customer service.

“I’ve actually become very frustrated with the service industry lately,” Meadows said. “As a customer I don’t feel I get what I pay for or I’m treated the way I should be treated. I try very hard to give people the utmost courtesy, especially when it comes to jewelry.”

The store itself is not a typical jewelry store and that’s exactly what Meadows intended. The dimly lit showroom draws customers in with a comforting warmth, and a friendly face of a woman who could be almost like family to the Meadows greets customers upon their arrival. Circling the showcases a customer can find almost any type of jewelry for which he or she is looking including earrings, rings, necklaces and even a gold belt made up of a necklace, bracelet and an extra three-link piece.

Jonathan & Company is located at 105 East Main Street. For more information call (770) 516-3025.
Or go online to www.jonathanandcompany.com