Capital Jewelers Salon closing after 56 years

Carson City's self-styled cure for Bad Santa syndrome is about to succumb despite more than a half century of selling sparkly stuff instead of pajamas or small appliances.

Capital Jewelers Salon, 1000 N. Carson St., is going out with a whang-dang-thang, not a whimper, offering all wares on hand in a going-out-of-business event now slated to end Jan. 5. Prices are cut up to 70 percent.

"Bad Santa" is the two-word admonition on a large display sign showing pictures of small appliances to let men know women don't want toaster ovens as much as jewelry. The sign, recycled over the years during holidays, bedecks the salon again during this last go-round

"You gotta have fun," said Dawn Sellers, co-owner with her husband, Greg, and a woman undergoing the bittersweet time closing her place signifies. "If you're not having fun, there's no point."

That was a reference to the Bad Santa and other signs she has used during the years, but also to her decision to close the store.

"It just fits in with my philosophy," she said, which includes having a good time and motivating folks because they can relate to humor.

"It was not the easiest decision we ever made," she said of the imminent closure, now anticipated for Jan. 5. "The last few years have been pretty difficult."

She cited "a little wear and tear," trying to be all things to all people, and other facets of business life that can get old. She may open a small place later to do the part she loves most: jewelry design and repair. But first things first.

"I'm going to take a few months off and then I'll decide," she said.

As for those humorous signs, she credited Mike Buley of Seattle and the firm he owns, which she said is called Jewelry Ads That Work.

Her favorite: "You're right, guys, jewelry stores suck. Get over it, get in here; she loves this stuff."

Others she recalls quickly when prompted include: "Trust me, she doesn't want pajamas;" "Hardware store for women;" and "Classic rock for classic women."

Sellers said the store opened in 1956, or 56 years ago, and she has had it since 1986. She recalled some interesting times.

"We've had people get married in the store," she said, but added one really sticks with her.

She said once she had to cut a ring off a young widow's finger to convert it into a mother's ring, which paired the diamonds with two children's birth stones.,

"We were all crying," Sellers said. Three weeks later, when the new ring was finished, they all cried again as the widow tried it on.

"Good tears are the best ones," Sellers said.