History

Felecia Koerber – Owner

My name is Felecia Koerber, proud owner of Koerber’s Fine Jewelry. Below is a timeline of how Koerber’s Fine Jewelry began

In the next few years, we were just living life and having fun. We had no idea what was around the corner for us.

1982-1984

The engineering company that Mike worked for transferred us to San Francisco, California where our daughter was born and then in 1983 we were transferred to Midland, Michigan. After being transferred several times, Mike and I missed our home so in 1984 we returned to Indiana, where Mike was originally from.

1987

This is the year where our hobby of Koerber’s Gold Exchange, changed into a business. We opened up in October in a beauty salon thinking we would only be doing this through Christmas. I operated the store 6 days a week. Mike was working at his engineering job in the day. At night we would have dinner with the kids, do homework, bath and bedtime. Then Mike and I would get to work  recording, weighing and hand tagging in what was needed for the next day. This was back in the day before computers. Mike did all of the jewelry repairs in our basement at night. We did this for 9 years and I never received a paycheck. All profits were put back into the business to build our inventory.

1997-2013 

Mike and I worked our passion in this location for 17 years. We went to many jewelry shows all over the world. Most jewelers learn the trade through a family member as the stores are passed down from generation to generation, Mike and I didnt have that luxury. We were self taught, learning as we went along and attending any classes offered at trade shows. 

For many years, it was 12 hour days and weekends in our small store. We continued to do local festivals and hospital jewelry shows to build our brand because we didn’t have a budget for any marketing. Even though we worked hard, we also liked to have fun which gave us the opportunities to make new friends along the way.

Mike and I were always community invested. We attended many fundraisers that were annual events and we have continued to support them for over 40 years.


Photo Left: Felecia with Macy Gray
Photo Top Right: Felecia, Mike and Laura Bush
Photo Bottom Right: Feleica, Kevin Costner and Mike

2013-2014 

Michael was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He fought the battle for many months. During this difficult time we decided to renovate our building and expand our business. Mike was working with carpenters, electricians, plumbers, ect…while he was doing all his treatments. He knew it was important for the legacy of our store.

2015

We lost Michael February 22, 2015, after a long hard faught battle. But his presence is still felt in the store to this day. If we experience a challenge we always ask "What would Mike do?" and we always knew the answer.

In honor of Mike we introduced a memorial garden next to the building.