In honor of its silver anniversary, The Silver Peddler in Bald Head Island, North Carolina, has a new look.
Owner Jack Frost says he decided to refurbish the store earlier this year to give it new life this year.
“The renovations were more like a polish and reorganization,” he explains. “I always need more space to display and want to get better about keeping collections together.”
Frost says The Silver Peddler is known as a go-to coastal jewelry store on Bald Head Island. The business was started by Jill Moeller 25 years ago by simply selling silver jewelry off the back of her boat in the Bald Head Island harbor where she quickly became known as “the silver peddler lady,” notes Frost.
As word about Moeller’s business grew, she opened a storefront, focused on selling eclectic silver jewelry and other gifts. She aptly named the store The Silver Peddler and, over time, expanded into coastal gifts, apparel and decor as well.
Frost, who has spent summers on Bald Head Island for decades, bought the store from Moeller in 2019 with a goal to carry on its rich history. Jewelry makes up about 65% of the store’s merchandise, with some custom-design pieces as well as handmade bangle bracelets, Bald Head Island hook bracelets, pendants, charms and more. The retailer also has a variety of gifts, such as Rightside Design pillows, Uttermost furniture, Rustic Marlin pillows and signs as well as Mariposa frames and handmade gifts.
To refurbish the shop, Frost spent a couple of weeks in the slower winter season updating the interior design of the store and its displays, adding slat wall and teak shelves as well as installing shiplap and painting. By mid-spring and a busier season, Frost says he completed refurbishment work.
“The refurbishment gave me just the vibe I needed to make it easier to be organized,” he adds.
Updating the shop’s design and organization has also helped Frost to increase The Silver Peddler’s revenue per square foot.
“I think in numbers and am very good about maximizing return on investment by space within the store,” Frost shares.
He adds that he’s glad he was able to celebrate the shop’s 25th anniversary with a refreshed look and hopes the store and its merchandise continue to bring joy to people who come in to shop.
“Everything in my store has a reason for being here and a story about where it comes from and why I thought it qualified for being in the store. I sell the story behind each piece,” Frost says. “I like to say, ‘I don’t sell anything in my store that anyone needs. I sell joy.’ If you see joy in something in my store, you should buy it and take the joy home with you.”
