Beverly Hills Jewelry Boutique

The clients were interested in opening a fine art jewelry store with manufacturing in the rear. They found an available unit, which used to be a clothing boutique. It was a perfect location in Beverly Hills, being just a stone's throw from Rodeo drive. We were asked to do the complete refit, including a complete set of display cases. We also had to layout the production room, for the four staff members, and enlarge the door to the room that would house the large safe. A large old skylight also had to closed off for security, the recessed space we used to hang two very large chandeliers.

The Beverly Hills building office, was tough to deal with, although we were only building one partition, non structural wall. Their main focus was on making the existing toilet room, more ADA compliant. It was 90 % there already, however because the previous tenants had not allocated enough space, the sink was too close to the toilet. We ended up purchasing a smaller sink, to meet code. There is a percentage of the overall project that has to be spent on ADA compliance in California. It is always advisable to consult any municipality prior to any solid design being drawn up. There are always idiosyncrasies to deal with. They will usually be more than happy to help you out.

We were working to basic CAD layout drawings, however, the day to day guidance was from one of the clients, whom was the Jewelry Designer. Usually this would be problematic. For the most part it went smoothly. The project called for an interesting group of material finishes. From the multi colored metallic wall paint to the leather covers for the display cases. The lighting included two artistic glass and steel chandeliers, track lighting with daylight corrected halogen bulbs, and high output LED light bars for all the cases. The workshop used track lighting also.

The twenty five foot tall front wall had to be painted and signage installed. Using a manlift on a public sidewalk during the day was against code. Being informed by the local police department, we had to cease work until after 5pm. Even getting equipment in on large trucks, takes a special permit which costs lots of dollars. Most delivery companies will come in before 5am, so they won't get caught without a permit.

Due to the ad lib design factor, the job ran over a month or so. Plus there were many days of extras to do after the soft opening. The store has been a big success for the clients. Having a location in Beverly Hills always looks good on your business cards, especially if you are in the fashion industry.