The color of the tufting matches the color of the carpeting. Oak crown molding runs throughout the store, but since it would have been expensive to custom make crown molding for the curved viewing space, Bruno instead commissioned an artist to create a mural depicting what the area would have looked like in 1850, during the heyday of the iron furnace.įor the center island, Bruno refurbished oak cases he had made for his old store by adding leather tufting on the outside of them to add character and vintage charm. Ligo Architects of Slippery Rock, PA, even created a circular viewing room jutting out as close to the gorge as possible. I was a little bit worried that they would just go to the windows, but they come to shop for jewelry, too.” Advertisement “When people open those doors, they do say ‘Wow.’” Bruno says. I felt it would create a unique experience.” “Nature can take some of that away, and this view is beautiful. People tend to get funny - nervous or apprehensive,” Bruno says. “Jewelry stores can be stuffy and intimidating. He also knew he wanted to open up the store with windows looking out onto the waterfall. He incorporated stone from the furnace found in the dig that was originally quarried from the property. When Bruno began building the store, laid out to overlook the waterfall, he had recently seen a documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright and so was interested in having the store blend organically with the natural environment and not stand out like “a shiny new penny.” The dig continues even now, and Bruno thinks it’s good for business. “You couldn’t hire someone to do that,” he says. Although some friends and advisers thought the decision was ill-advised, Bruno was so curious about the project that he not only agreed to allow the dig, but he joined the excavation team in 2007 before the store was built, helping haul rocks two days a week - work he describes as brutal. John White, a professor from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH, proposed excavating the historical iron furnace he knew was buried on Bruno’s newly purchased land. It is the site of the Historic Springfield Iron Furnace, which operated from 1837 to 1862. Advertisementīruno soon found out his property has more than a waterfall on it. His store is between the mall and the restaurants. There are also three highly regarded restaurants in the neighborhood. Although the property is off the main road, it is just a couple of miles from Grove City Outlet Mall, which attracts 6 to 8 million visitors annually, many of them from Toronto, Canada. He admits to some apprehension about buying the land, but the plan wasn’t as outlandish as it first seemed. After the demise of the steel mills in Western Pennsylvania decimated the local economy, he began thinking he needed more of a regional store. He worked as an apprentice, graduated to his own trade shop and opened his first jewelry store in 1981 in Hermitage, PA. If they were in strip plazas, they all looked the same.”īruno studied at Bowman Technical School in Lancaster, PA, learning jewelry repair, stone setting and hand engraving in the ’70s. “If they were downtown locations, they all looked the same. “From very early on in the business, I thought jewelry stores were the same old thing,” Bruno says. She said, ‘That looks wonderful,’ and so, she was on board.” “Funny enough, she liked the plan, too,” Larry says. Often Larry’s wife, Linda, looks at him like he’s nuts when he proposes an offbeat scheme, but this time she was as enchanted as he with the waterfall on seven acres. I lived on the other side of the county,” Bruno recalls. “He said, ‘Larry, how would you like to have a waterfall?’ I was shocked. But when his real estate agent found him seven acres in the middle of nowhere he was intrigued. When Bruno thought about having a destination store, he had not really imagined being off the beaten path. ONE THING’S FOR SURE: Larry Bruno’s decision to build a destination store in Northwestern Pennsylvania has left him with an endless supply of interesting and unlikely stories to share with customers. YELP RATING: 5 Stars FACEBOOK: 177 likes ALEXA GLOBAL RANK: 6.29 million URL: OWNER: Larry Bruno FOUNDED: 1981 OPENED FEATURED LOCATION: 2009 ARCHITECT: Ligo Architects of Slippery Rock, PA AREA: 3,000 square feet BUILDOUT COST: $1.1 million EMPLOYEES: 2 TOP BRANDS: Hearts On Fire, Gottlieb & Sons, Mark Schneider Design, LeVian, Ironmaster’s Gem, Pandora, Lafonn, Colore/SG, Imperial Pearls, Pascal Pearls, Suna Bros.
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