Air & Anchor owners Rachel and Omar Ajaj say they relocated their Cranston, R.I., store to gain more space for events that can bond customers to the brand, such as jewelry-making workshops, beading parties, and musical sip-and-shops.
Located at 61 Hillside Road in Garden City Center, just a few doors down from Air & Anchor‘s previous pop-up, the new store allows for a bigger bead bar and expanded meeting space for custom-jewelry consultations, as well as plenty of room for events.
“It’s about cultivating an environment where we can give our customers special moments and share experiences,” Omar says. “You can be creative. You can learn something new. You can listen to live music as you shop or make a piece of jewelry. You can grab a beer, hang out, and get to know us.”
Air & Anchor has been selling direct-to-consumer online since April 2020, and opened the Garden City pop-up in May 2023. The married founders of the Cranston-based company both had previous experience working in jewelry and envisioned a lifestyle brand focused on making “sh*t that matters,” as Air & Anchor’s motto goes.
The original brick-and-mortar location taught the Ajajs about which areas worked and which needed to grow so more people could participate. As a result, the new store’s bead bar can accommodate 20 people, versus 12 in the prior shop, and the company has added engraving to its services (which also include permanent jewelry).
“We loved the first space—it felt perfect in terms of size. But the reaction from our customers is they love this bigger one because it feels more open,” Rachel says. “We have an expanded bead bar in an area we call the Factory. People wanted a space for get-togethers or for parties, like bridal or birthdays.”
A significant thing the Ajajs say they learned from the pop-up is customer demand for doing their own custom jewelry. “People want to create for themselves—they want a piece that is personalized only for them,” Rachel says.
The Ajajs say they have wonderful staff members who are excited to work directly with clients on one-of-a-kind pieces using Air & Anchor’s patented Cuff Keeper or beads. One customer, for example, wanted to wear her late husband’s wedding band as a memory of him but didn’t want to resize the ring. At the Air & Anchor store, she was able to create a necklace with the ring on a Cuff Keeper that she could wear every day.
“We couldn’t have gotten luckier with the staff that we have at the store who are willing to get down and dirty,” says Rachel. “They work to learn all the techniques we use, but they are constantly getting creative in the store, adding new items and new ways to display the jewelry. [The Factory has] turned out to be a great area to test a lot of new concepts and designs.”
Top: The Cuff Keeper, which can hold charms, keepsakes, or other pieces of jewelry, is one of the custom jewelry options that gained more space at Air & Anchor’s recently opened larger retail store in Cranston, R.I. (Photos courtesy of Air & Anchor)
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