To put it simply, BIG THINGS are going on over here at GreeKeys!!! As you know I am a big supporter of the “Made in the USA” movement. All of my pieces have been designed by me in Maryland ( that wonderful little state just to the left, right, and top of Washington DC) where I design in CAD and grow my models on my own 3D printer. I have been using a casting house in Long Island NY and one in Boston MA to cast the pieces in precious metals. Well, I have decided it was time to bring all aspects of production, including casting “home”, home to MD. 

 Throughout this journey I have met so many wonderful “Greek” women who have been helping and cheering me on. One of these stand out women is a lovely Pi Phi by the name of Mara Gottlieb Lopez. I won’t go into the whole story here (invite me to speak at your meeting and I will 8-D) but suffice it to say we met over the phone when I was inquiring about equipment at Rio Grande (a jewelers supply company). She has not only helped me connect with the wonderful Pi Beta Phi women of Albuquerque NM but has inspired me to move into production. My daughters have asked me so many times why I don’t cast and polish my pieces myself, honestly it was fear. Yup! Even I can be afraid sometimes. So between Mara, and my daughters, I have faced the fear.

Before I spoke this past weekend at the Founders Day Function for Pi Beta Phi, Mara organized a tour of the Rio Grande facility. AMAZING!!!! I can not express the wonder, joy, surprise, etc that I experienced as I toured this company. Mara had arranged for me to be shown around by Molly, the daughter of the founder, she herself has worked and facilitated the growth of the company from the mid ‘70s to become the international company it is today! What an amazing story! And, I must tell you, it is the cleanest, most technically advanced, forward thinking, and friendliest facility I have EVER seen! Molly (and her family) are an inspiration!, always evolving, always advancing and embracing new technology to move forward, stay relevant, and stay at the forefront of our industry, thereby helping other jewelers, like me, here “in the field”, to do the same.

 This is where my new casting machine was born!

LOOK at how clean this facility is! It is like this everywhere!!!

So what does this mean for GreeKeys, and you? Well, this weekend I invested in myself. I have purchased an amazing casting machine (designed and built right there in their facility, here is a picture of where my baby was born), a casting oven, and added to my arsenal of polishing equipment. What does this mean for you? It means that I am now doing all your pieces myself. I am now your designer, and your jeweler in the truest sense of the word. Everything is “Designed and Manufactured in Maryland from the Worlds finest Materials”‼  Ask me again “What does that mean for ME, Jaynie?”, Well, since I have eliminated those extra hands, and I am able to lower your prices‼  ( THAT’S what’s going on at GreeKeys‼