Noe Valley Jewelry Store Rose Quartz Sparkles

“This lady who just came in had a chocolate brown dress, and she said, ‘Should I buy a chocolate brown necklace? My friends say that’s the thing to do.’ And I said, ‘Sounds dreadful. Why would you want brown, brown, brown, and brown, if you’ve got brown hair?’ So I said, ‘How about pink?’ So we started playing with pink, and she ended up getting a bunch of pink things that worked.”

Customer Marla Martin peruses the jewelry cases and tries to keep her hands in her pockets. “It’s hard not to buy everything in here,” she says. “Yvette has so much inventory and so many different styles. I love jewelry. This is the greatest little store in Noe. And Isabella is one of the reasons.”

Isabella is Chamberland’s dog of nine years. She lounges on the floor and gratefully accepts a pat from any customer who offers it. A rottweiler-poodle mix (Chamberland often refers to her as a “rottendoodle”), Isabella is Chamberland’s constant companion, and the dog’s image, along with that of her predecessor, Amber the golden retriever, graces the sandwich board outside.

“A lot of people come in and ask if I sell dog jewelry because of my sign, but I don’t,” Chamberland smiles. “It’s just a way for people to remember who we are and to notice the store.”

And they do. “When we’re not here, more people come in and ask for my dog by name than ask for me. Everybody’s always asking, ‘Where’s Isabella?’ No one comes in and says, ‘Where’s that cute little Yvette today?’”

Edith Piaf purrs from the stereo as Chamberland takes a moment’s rest between customers. She leans back, takes a long drink of water, and reflects on her business, which has lasted more than two decades. “There have been ups and downs—I made it through the dot-com bust. But I’ve been really lucky. Since I’ve been at this location for a number of years, I have enough established clients who will come back from wherever they’ve moved in the Bay Area and abroad.

“Plus, people in this neighborhood are so nice. I’ve heard people who work in large department stores downtown complain that they often have difficult, irate customers. That happens so rarely here. People here are respectful. They’re warm and friendly. It’s just a great neighborhood to have a business.”

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