Driving down Interstate-41 near the intersection of Half Day Road, two mundane, brick buildings stand on the side of the highway.
The inside, however, is anything but mundane. This is where jeweler Jeff Lieb single-handily creates countless jewelry lines adored by customers and retailers the world over.
More Top Picks Best Budget Microwave Ovens
Although he has showrooms in major fashion markets such as Dallas and Atlanta, the Highland Park resident never opened any physical doors in Chicago. According to Lieb, Chicago’s presence in the fashion world is surprisingly limited.
“I do so much more business in Dallas and Atlanta than I do in Chicago,” Lieb said. “Those are where the markets are. Chicago is not a chief fashion city. But now I want to have something here for the Midwest people. I believe once they see my lines, they’ll realize they won’t have to go to Dallas or New York.”
Once designated exclusively as Lieb’s “laboratory” of artistic design and creation, those ordinary brick buildings at 3100 Skokie Valley Road in Highland Park will now serve as his first public showroom in the Chicago area.
The walls are lined with eye-popping merchandise that blurs the lines between art and jewelry. Each piece is hand crafted by Lieb himself, using only the highest quality of materials. And with more than 8,500 pieces under his belt, there’s no sign that this one-man assembly line has any plans of slowing down.
“After every line, I always say, ‘How am I going to top this?’ I’ve done everything I can think of,” Lieb said. “Now, I wake up every single morning with new designs already finished in my head. I have no control over them. My spiritual side completely takes over. I feel connected to a higher source that’s feeding me my ideas.”
Lieb views this showroom as a possible prototype for additional galleries in Chicago. While his goals don’t involve transforming Chicago into a major market, he does hope to expose the area to quality jewelry made with passion and heart.
“In Highland Park, for example, every store looks basically the same. They have very similar taste levels that are extremely minimal,” Lieb said. “Minimal means nothing to me. I’m not trying to conquer the world here, but most department stores with jewelry are simply buying junk. It’s all plastic and fake. Mine are all real. So my hope is when folks here see my lines, and they see the real stones and the real crystal, they’ll appreciate what I do and what I can provide.”
With more than 1,000 stores across the country carrying Lieb’s line of jewelry, traveling serves as a key aspect to his operation. Now with a showroom in Highland Park, the retailers can finally come to Lieb on his own turf in Chicago.
“I’d like to celebrate this as a new beginning for me and my customers and actually meet people in the neighborhood,” Lieb said. “I’ve been traveling so much, It doesn’t even feel like Chicago is my home. I would love to socialize more and meet more people in the city, because there’s a lot of creative people here.”
For more information on Jeff Lieb Jewelry or to set up an appointment, call 847-433-2669 or visit jeffliebjewelry.com.