Christopher & Co. Custom Jewelers

Christopher & Co. is a custom jeweler in Champaign, Illinois, at the bench since 1975. The work is one-of-a-kind, hand-fabricated, no CAD, designed with the person who will wear it. The studio had moved to custom only, by appointment on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but the homepage had not caught up.

I redesigned the homepage on my own, because a studio that makes things that exist only once should not look like a shop selling the same ring to everyone.

What was getting in the way

The page still read like a full retail store, product cards with prices and all. Someone who wanted a piece made just for them could not tell that custom was now the whole point, or how to begin, or that the studio keeps short appointment-only hours. The beautiful bench photography was there, but the one thing that mattered, how to start a piece with Christopher, was buried.

What I changed

I led with the craft and the promise: jewelry that exists only once, Christopher at the bench, and a clear way to start a piece. The work moved into a calm, dark gallery so the pieces carry the page. The process is spelled out in plain language, and the Wednesday and Saturday hours and a tap-to-call number sit where people look. It is built mobile first, because that is where most people meet a business now.

Before and after

Same artist, same one-of-a-kind work. The redesign just tells the truth about how the studio works today, so the right people know they are in the right place. If your site no longer matches what you actually do, here is how to tell, and I'm happy to look at yours.