Jeweler Jannie Bean always wears her heart on her sleeve—quite literally. Smaller than a dime, the stipple-textured pin is one of Jannie’s signature designs, and she’s customized it for countless clients since its debut almost three decades ago.
“I have a heart that I made—it could be a pendant or a pin—and women just love these,” says Jannie, the owner of Jannie Bean Fine Custom Jewelry in Highlands, North Carolina. It’s a small, shiny symbol of her life’s work, which ultimately is about more than handcrafting fine accessories.
While she’s tailored her heart design by adding birthstones or casting with different precious metals, Jannie’s own version is 14-karat yellow gold adorned with a single sparkling diamond. It’s a tiny reminder, she says, to live everyday with love and gratitude.
“The real purpose for my being here is to love the person who comes in that door,” says Jannie, who fell into the jewelry manufacturing business as a college student. While studying art at the University of Minnesota, she found a part-time job at a local jewelry shop. She continued to work for the jeweler long past graduation and purchased the business when she turned 39. After she and her husband, Tom, moved to Highlands in 2016 for a dramatic change of scenery, she opened the current location.
From engagement rings to necklaces to belt buckles, Jannie starts from scratch with most of her pieces, and nearly all of her designs are one-of-a-kind.
With more than 46 years of experience, Jannie recognizes that we all have distinctive tastes when it comes to jewelry. The majority of her work is commissioned by people who long for a wearable sentimental token that pays homage to a loved one, whether it’s made from new materials or heirloom elements.
If someone comes into her store with an inherited bracelet or a passed-down brooch they could never see themselves donning, Jannie asks, “How would you wear this?” She listens as strangers share their memories of beloved grandmothers or late husbands, taking inspiration from these fond remembrances to create irreplaceable keepsakes.
Even when it costs her more time and money, Jannie will always redo a piece or make changes to ensure complete satisfaction. “People come in here with a thought in mind: ‘Jannie is going to make something special for me.’” And for that, she says, “Lord, I am thankful.”
