Hartman’s Jewelry and Repair in McCleary is closing its doors and relocating to Shelton after 18 years of business at the corner of South 4th Street and West Maple Street.

Since the store opened in 1999 Tim and Ann Hartman have offered a variety of services to those who did not wish to travel to Olympia for their jewelry needs. Sales, manufacturing, repair, appraisals and even watchmaking could all be handled by the Hartmans and their knowledgeable staff.

“We may be small but we are full service,” Ann said.

Tim got started in the jewelry business as a teenager, sweeping floors in a jewelry store in Tacoma. After hanging around the store for a while, Tim started learning about the business until the point came where he got his own bench and could kick the grunt work to the side and learn his craft from master jewelers in Tacoma.

Tim said that over the years they have developed a customer base that is probably 2,700 strong, and that the relationships built with customers blossomed into what he and Ann would consider one large family.

“They were all really extended family, we were tight,” he said.

Community is part of what drew the Hartmans to McCleary in the first place. Originally from Tacoma, Ann said they liked the idea of living in a small town with “a little space around them.” They got the “wild-haired idea” to open up a store and started with wholesale work and let the retail develop organically.

“And it did. We have lots of customers now,” she said.

The fondest memories the Hartmans have from over the years involve their customers and the relationships that have been built over the course of almost two decades.

One customer, as the Hartmans were just getting their business started, sought out their bench at a trade show at the South Shore Mall after reading a story about the business in The Vidette. The Hartmans said she approached them in a way that made it seem as if they had known each other for years. Now, they have.

“She had a lot of work that needed done, and she’s been a customer ever since,” Ann said.

Laurie Mansmith, a longtime friend and employee of the Hartmans, said her favorite aspect of working at the store was seeing the reactions of customers who laid eyes on a repaired piece of jewelry they had previously thought unsalvageable.

“They say, ‘That’s so beautiful, that’s not mine, that’s not my ring,’ because they don’t even recognize it and have never seen it cleaned and fixed,” Mansmith said.

Hartman’s Jewelry and Repair customers are not completely out of luck, as they can still have work done by Tim at his new location at Mariano’s Fine Jewelry and Design on Railroad Avenue in Shelton. Tim says he’s been given lots of freedom to operate at his new location, and will do, “just about anything and everything I want,” including his specialty repairs.

“I just want to slow down a little bit,” Tim said, noting that with their store being open he was often working seven days a week.

The Hartmans held a store-closing event May 31 that was attended by some 100 people, including former mayor Wally Bentley who had the honor of taking down the Hartman’s Jewelry and Repair sign that has hung outside the shop for almost 20 years.

“In a way there was a mood of sadness that they were leaving their business in the city of McCleary,” Bentley said. “At the same time, there was a feeling of ‘If this is what they have to do for their business then we’re happy for them.’”

Many of their customers said they will follow the Hartmans to Shelton, but those who don’t want to make the trip can reach out to via the store’s website HartmansJewelryrepair.com for information on how to move forward.

“The store is closing, but the bench is alive and well,” Ann said.