“Stay true to your brand, location and environment” with a focus on offering high-quality coastal jewelry.When it comes to jewelry, Ina Marjakangas is a real gem. She opened Coast Boutique a decade ago after an illustrious career in this sector, from managing retail operations for Diamonds International, the world’s largest tax- and duty-free player, to a role at now JTV (Jewelry Television).
The Montreal native grew up in the Caribbean and began working for a Canadian designer at age 19. Marjakangas immediately got hooked on being surrounded by beautiful things. When she moved to Florida shortly after, her goal was to explore the duty-free luxury market, which meant extensive cruise line travel.
 Sea themes abound in Coast Boutique’s jewelry, from sea glass pendants to elegant pearl necklaces. photos: Jacqueline Marie Photography
During her travels, she says she would find herself being drawn to independent, local shops that carried interesting and unique items and would think to herself, “One day, I’m going to do that.”
Life circumstances prompted Marjakangas to gravitate to land, and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea was where she followed her dream. Her shop is a platform for talented jewelry artists to showcase their work and a space for known brands like Inis intermingled with curated vendors offering home decor, apparel, art and keepsakes.
“Jewelry is my wheelhouse,” says Marjakangas of Coast Boutique’s largest category.
On brandWhen Marjakangas decided to open a shop, her friends wanted to know, “Will it be fancy?”
“I came from a really high-end luxury background and there was no way I was going to do that,” she says. Marjakangas didn’t want a safe in the back, a security guard or a buzzer to admit customers. Plus, there are two other longtime fine jewelers in town.
Instead, she set out to create a boutique experience that is decidedly coastal with themes that speak to the tourist destination, presented in artistic handmade displays in a hospitable environment. Price points she aims for are $500 or less for quality crafted, expertly finished pieces.
Because the region is known as a turtle nesting capital, “turtle jewelry sells all day long,” says Marjakangas.
The shop’s logo is a pelican, so those are also popular. Starfish, sand dollars, wave motifs, seashells, crabs, dolphins and fish also top the list of jewelry themes.
When buying jewelry, Marjakangas stays in the coastal lane. She learned this after introducing a New England-based line to the store that she thought would cater to the Northeast crowd. The jewelry company created a private label piece for the shop. It was a pendant with the town logo: an Adirondack chair with a pelican on top.
“I thought people would want to come here and buy something they were familiar with, but in reality they don’t. They want to buy something they can’t get back home.” — Ina Marjakangas
“Those sold well, but the regular product did not,” relates Marjakangas. “I thought people would want to come here and buy something they were familiar with, but in reality they don’t. They want to buy something they can’t get back home.”
Marjakangas focuses on Coast Boutique’s proven lines that are memory pieces preserving vacation moments. “This is the formula that has worked,” she says. “Stay true to your brand, your location and your environment.”
Decidedly coastalMarjakangas’ eye for elevated jewelry is an asset for introducing a curated mix of artisanal, creative brands.
One of Coast Boutique’s highest volume sellers is Charles Albert’s Sea Glass line of adjustable rings, bracelets and pendants. Marjakangas also carries his Alchemia collection that includes mother of pearl rings and necklaces in themes such as starfish, sea turtle, sunshine and simple drops.
 Beaded necklaces and bracelets with a similar style hang on the same display.
Alamea Hawaii jewelry includes sterling silver and larimar gemstone pieces like stand-out wave hook earrings of sterling silver, larimar and cubic zirconia. The same design is available in a bracelet and pendant.
The Caribbean Hook Bracelet with its horseshoe design is an old islander tradition. Visitors appreciate the authentic bracelets with meaning behind them, Marjakangas says.
Coast Boutique also carries some “purchase with a purpose” jewelry, namely tracking bracelets in partnership with Save The Elephants, with proceeds benefiting the Kenyan nonprofit.
Marjakangas keeps an eye on hot sellers by running sales reports so she can decide which products to backstock. One challenge when carrying extra jewelry inventory is the cost per piece. “It’s not like T-shirts. You pay a higher price to backstock,” she says, relating why sales reports are so important.
A tip for ring buying: “Choose self-sizing designs so you don’t have to stock a ring style in every size,” Marjakangas advises.
Show off“Jewelry tells a story,” Marjakangas tells her staff of four, noting that presentation sets the stage. “Coming from the jewelry industry, I don’t like the look of ‘little soldiers in a showcase’ where pieces are all lined up. We try to make it interesting.”
Most displays are handmade, such as a shadowbox frame Marjakangas lathered with hot glue before pouring rice in it to mimic sand and show off sea glass bangles and rings.
Showcases are curated with starfish and other beach finds, and repurposed display tables are painted in the shop’s signature color, Pantone’s Moroccan Blue. Every bit of Coast Boutique’s experience was crafted intentionally.
“The store is beautiful to look at, it smells nice when you come in, we play Bob Marley or Jimmy Buffet because that’s what people expect, and we offer them a rum punch so the get a taste of the Caribbean,” Marjakangas says. “The shop is part of people’s vacations every year and they love to bring their friends.”
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