How We Began

We are here to share our love of beautifully designed and crafted vintage jewelry. This is an invitation to join us here for our post where we will share information and photographs about our finds and our little adventures in life.

We began exploring the world of jewelry when a friend brought us a box of her mothers costume jewelry to sell on eBay. Many of the pieces were familiar to us because we had seen our mothers wear them when we were growing up. Others were not so familiar. So, following the Number 1 Rule of selling, Know What You Are Selling, we began our research. The Internet made it quick and easy to find information on pieces with signatures, Eisenberg, Har, Trifari, Boucher, Hollycraft, Ciner, Florenza and the like. The more obscure names and unsigned pieces were harder but discovering information about them was much more rewarding. We learned that most of these fabulous pieces were made in the United States and we loved that. We also learned things about our friend's mother who passed away before we met.

From there we worked to become Power Sellers and then opened an eBay store. While our experiences were good for the most part we wanted a venue more reflective of the image we wished to project and more reasonable fees for selling. We also wanted to go beyond simply selling, so we could build relationships with our customers. We found those things with Ruby Lane including shop promotion and shop management software at a level that would have been difficult for us to achieve on our own. Now we feel a higher degree of satisfaction and enjoyment in working with people - not only customers but other shop owners as well.

Our great appreciation for the sheer beauty of jewelry and the designers and craftsmen who created it kept us pursuing these treasures. Most importantly, we're having fun. Those things led us to opening our online shop, Tropic Trading Company on Ruby Lane. This month marks the beginning of our third year on Ruby Lane. It has been a rewarding experience, especially the friends we have been able to make with this selling venue. We have met many interesting people throughout the country, and many more all over the world. We truly learn something new every day. We learn about design, history, fashion, technology, and so much more. We learn about the world from friends in other countries and in other parts of the United States. And, we learn about ourselves.