When a man has built a brand around his life’s passion, works side-by-side with his talented family and celebrates store openings around the world with his loyal fans, what more could he possibly want? Apparently, a nice pair of warm wool socks. And maybe an A/C unit that doesn’t blow on his face.
Arizona Foothills had a delightful conversation with famed jeweler David Yurman at his boutique opening at Scottsdale Fashion Square. He shared with us his favorite little luxuries, the inner-workings of his company, which AZ cowboy bar he frequents and why gift-giving means the world to him.
Claire Perkins: What strikes you about Arizona as being the perfect place to open your new store?
David Yurman: We’ve sold our collections in AZ for 20 years. Whether it’s the independent [shops] or Neiman’s or Saks, we’ve been here for 20 years. My customer is here, so that’s what strikes me. They’re here to relax, [some are] here year-round, some are on their vacations, spending 4 or 6 months playing golf, so it’s people who enjoy life and can enjoy this lifestyle.
CP: Do you enjoy visiting Arizona?
DY: I do, I ride here- I ride horses here in Cave Creek, in Prescott, Payson, Coyote Basin. I ride horses here and I have friends who ride horses in the area.
CP: Is there anywhere you have to go every time you visit?
DY: Handlebar J. Handlebar J was a cowboy bar- it’s Arizona’s National Treasure.
CP: How long have you been going there?
DY: 15 years.
CP: I’ve never been.
DY: Oh you have to go!
CP: Well if that’s where you go every time you come here, I’m adding it to my to do list.
DY: The ribs are good, too, but you go for the music and atmosphere.
CP: So before you had your business, you designed jewelry with your wife in mind- is that true?
DY: Well I began making it in high school, so she wasn’t in my mind then. Sort of as an art, a sculptural project. It’s my life’s passion and I’ve been doing it since high school. When I got involved and it was time for marketing and getting my jewelry out in the world, Sybil was my partner and my muse so we worked together, I made things for her.
The story goes, and it’s pretty true, that I worked for a sculptor named Jacques Lipchitz, a very famous old sculptor- famous like Picasso, Matisse, Gigliani, Leger. I was his apprentice, and we’d go to one gallery a lot. And when I wasn’t his apprentice anymore, I went to this gallery to visit this woman Bella Frisko, and I went with Sybil and she was wearing a necklace I made for her. Bella said to Sybil “That’s beautiful, is that for sale?” and simultaneously we said opposites. She said “yes” and I said “no”. I thought she meant that specific piece, and Sybil thought “Do you make those kind of things for sale?”. Which I just found out about two years ago. So she gave her her necklace.
We finished walking on Madison Avenue on a sunny weekend, we came back to our apartment on the west side, and she had sold four. No two are alike. She sold four and we were in business. Bella was our patron and she’d sell them out of her desk drawer. She’d wear one, and when people would ask, she’d pull them out of her drawer.
CP: What did those look like? What was that first piece?
DY: They were bronze direct-welded sculptural pieces- some were dragons and other mythical creatures.
CP: So nothing like what you have now.
DY: Similar in that they were bold, identifiable. There was definitely a signature on them.
