For the fourth year in a row, Bob and Rose-Marie Goodman are hosting a pop-up market for Black jewelry designers, one of the ways they follow through on their promise of making their Indianapolis-area jewelry store a welcoming community spot for everyone.
The annual Black Jewelry Designers & Makers Pop Up will take place this Sunday, April 14, at Robert Goodman Jewelers in Zionsville, Ind. The store normally is closed on Sunday, but Bob Goodman says they hold the event then so the focus is solely on the guest vendors.
The Goodmans offer their space at no cost to pop-up participants, and they do not take commissions from them. Nine case tops and one six-foot table are available. If anyone gets hungry during the four-hour event, they can get food from a locally owned food truck, ChefTLC, parked nearby.
Bob Goodman says many businesses in the jewelry industry can be traditional and risk-adverse, but he challenges them to consider holding an event like this. Not only does it connect retailers with the people in their communities, it fills the store with laughter, conversation, and beautiful expressions of creativity.
“We believe in the human model,” says Goodman, who has worked with a social justice consultant and local residents to develop events like the Black Jewelry Designers & Makers Pop Up.
“We think that social justice is the bedrock to our business,” he says. “It started during the pandemic and after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. We switched our messaging to stop talking about merchandise and start talking to people. It’s about being in community, not just community-minded.”
The Goodmans are accustomed to standing up for causes they believe in as business owners. When they hosted the Plan B Art Project, a traveling jewelry exhibit in support of women’s reproductive rights, last year, around 30 people protested outside. Rather than ignore the debate, Goodman says he engaged with the crowd and ended up having civil, productive discussions.
It’s not about publicity, either, Goodman says. But when contacted by JCK for the article, he says he wanted to talk about the Black designers market so others in the industry might feel compelled to do something similar. He’s always open to sharing what he has learned about how to create positive change.
“My call to the industry is to get off of your butts and start doing things that will expand the industry by including people who have been excluded because of hate, prejudice, and redlining,” Goodman says. “We don’t do this for the attention. We’re doing it because we feel it is an obligation as an ally. It exposes people to all kinds of artists and jewelry designers.”
(Photos courtesy of Robert Goodman Jewelers)
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