Lesson learned: don’t shut down and move if you’re in possession of other peoples’ jewelry.
Clark and Christie Johnson, owners of Tommy Knockers Custom Jewelry, closed their store in Redstone at Kimball Junction just after Valentine’s Day. They’ve been gradually moving out, but the storefront looks boarded up and the note on the door gives little direction on how to contact them.
That made several people nervous who left jewelry with the store to be repaired.
Maryann Woods gave them a watch worth a little less than $1,000.
“I tried to call them twice. Their mailbox is full,” she said Wednesday.
It was dropped off a month ago. Woods said if she gets it back and it’s repaired, she’ll pay the money. But right now she just wants it back whether it’s fixed or not.
Woods said she was notified the company would be moving, but was told the Johnsons would be in touch with her. She hasn’t heard from them, and their voicemail box is now full. So she contacted the Summit County Sheriff’s Office for help.
“We don’t want to cause any trouble, we just want the watch back,” she added.
Heather Claus also filed a complaint with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, but couldn’t be reached.
John Piotrowski said he and his wife filed a complaint in small claims court because they’ve been trying for some time to get two rings back worth $4,000.
They dropped them off in late November, and kept being told it was going to be another two weeks. Finally, they went to the shop to demand the rings back and saw the windows boarded up with a note on the door for the United Parcel Service.
They went back last Friday and talked to a person inside packing up and were told the rings were in a home office. Piotrowski told them to have them at the store by that afternoon. He then returned, and waited two hours but no one came.
“My wife just wants her rings back,” he said. “It’s been going on and on. We’re convinced we’re not going to get the rings back; there’s no sign that we are.”
Also filed with the 3rd District Court were two debt-collection cases in which the money, totaling almost $10,000, was ordered to be paid last month.
Clark Johnson called The Park Record Thursday to say he has been calling people and stopped by a house that morning to return a piece, but it’s an ongoing process. He can be reached at 435-659-8846
Recently, moving has exhausted his time and he has to get the moving done this week, he said.
“We’re continuing to work on that,” he added.
He said leaving Redstone was their decision. The Boyer Company, which manages the outdoor mall, was the best landlord he’d ever had, he said.
“I know Boyer considers this a pretty big loss for them. I know they’re disappointed to see us leave, but we really felt like it was time to make a move,” he said.
Jeff Machin with Boyer said he agreed with that and added that they had a good relationship.
Johnson said this move was not spur-of-the-moment and has been a long-time coming. Retail is “a different animal” than it was a decade ago and they’ve been looking to simplify their business model.
“Our goal is to transition out of retail and focus more on our custom design service. I felt that we’d had so much growth in (that) part of our business and it was vital to focus on that,” he explained. “I wanted to offer better turn-around and service to my high-end customers. It’s hard to manage that with all the things involved with running a retail business on top of that.”
The new, scaled-down business will be run out of an office on 1840 Sun Peak Drive. Anyone who hasn’t been contacted by him by next week will be able to find him there, he said. The new business will be called Clark Johnson Jewelry Designer.
The Tommy Knockers name isn’t going away, though. He still plans on selling the most popular mountain-themed pieces he designed under that brand. There’s a peaked skyline, a snowflake and an aspen-leaf line of jewelry he designed.
Livin’ Life Park City, a Main Street gift and décor store, has already agreed to carry these and other Tommy Knocker favorites.
“I’m really happy about that because there’s been 33 years gone into building that name,” he added. “I think people would be really disappointed if Tommy Knockers name left. We’re one of the oldest names in town and we’ve become a piece of history.”
Jill Rathburn and Don Croce, owners of Livin’ Life Park City, said via email, “Livin’ Life Park City is proud to continue the tradition of making their exquisite pieces available to new and loyal Tommy Knockers customers. Clark and Christie Johnson are quality people with deep roots in our town and they will continue to service their clientele either directly for previously purchased items and repairs, or through our Main Street store for new and future purchases.”
View Untitled in a larger map