Business history (written in the third person)

Like a seed dropped into a crack in the pavement, Goldworks has pushed up through the rubble and spread out, literally having grown up through the streets of Eugene. Gary Dawson sold his first ring for $4 sitting in front of Old Taylors on the corner of 13th and campus. Now, 32 years later, he is operating his successful jewelry design studio at another corner in Eugene, the Broadway and Pearl district.

Mr. Dawson’s involvement with metal work began well before however, on a farm in southwestern OR. Situated midway between Riddle and Canyonville, Mountain Meadows farm was a 221-acre refuge for his war-weary parents when they moved there in 1947. Dawson grew up in a relatively healthy and safe haven, free to explore and fully appreciate the environment in which his consciousness was developing. While he was a child, learning the skills needed to keep a rural home viable, he was also, no doubt, unconsciously soaking up the dynamism of the gold-rich hills and streams. At age 12 he began his metalworking career, sweeping the floor in a local machine shop. It wasn’t long before Dawson began assuming welding and fabrication duties, having already learned many of these skills previously on the farm. One of his first design innovations was a new way to trim brake shims for the Hannah Nickel Mine tramway in the refurbishing process. Previously, the shims had been shaped in a laborious grinding process and Dawson developed a way to trim excess metal before installation, using a cutting torch.

It wasn’t until returning from the Army that Mr. Dawson began his involvement with jewelry design and manufacture. He was utilizing the GI bill to acquire a rather eclectic liberal arts degree at the University of Oregon when a friend from his hometown approached him with a career idea. The friend talked him into taking a beginning jewelry class because he (the friend) had decided that he wanted to be a jeweler. Somewhat skeptically, Mr. Dawson enrolled in the metalworking class of Max Nixon, a mentor of many northwest artists. After two weeks, the friend had dropped out of the class but by that time, Dawson had made an initial investment of $80 on some of the tools necessary to begin building a jewelry studio. Mr. Dawson continued his academic career, eventually graduating from the U. of O. with a BA in Anthropology, but continued to develop his jewelry making skills as well.

Aside from the corner of 13th and Kincaid, the first sales venues included the old Max’s tavern and a door-to-business-door-walking route around downtown Eugene. At that time, on many Wed. nights, after his Spanish language class informal gathering, Dawson would sit in a visible corner table at Max’s Tavern, with a box of his newly created jewelry and a penlight. A deal was struck with the management that the soft sell could continue as long as it didn’t become a problem for clients (and as long as generous tips were offered.) During free afternoons, Mr. Dawson found that walking around from business to business, offering looks at his jewelry creations would often result in profitable days. Business owners didn’t seem to mind, as the approach was gentle and very polite. An initial attempt was made to sell at the Portland Saturday Market (PSM) but after a frustrating day of many compliments and no sales, Dawson found the strategy of walking into business offices in Eugene to be easier to handle. Later, after spending some time at the Saturday Market in Eugene, Dawson discovered that the PSM actually was a viable venue and eventually was elected to the board of directors of the Portland market where he sold most weekends for 8 years. He maintained his home in Eugene during that time.

Mr. Dawson’s first retail location in Eugene was near the edge of town on Coburg Road, inside what was then called the Coburg Road Clock Shop. He spent a year there, and then was convinced that opening his own location would provide for more visibility. Staying at a small shop location at 15th and Willamette for over 8 years, he continually developed the business, building a devoted following of local clients who were interested in the integrity of design and manufacture that he consistently provided. He also began doing national-level craft shows at that time, successfully working venues as diverse as La Quinta, CA (near Palm Springs) and the Minneapolis MN American Crafts Enterprises show.

It was around this time that Mr. Dawson became involved with the NorthWest Craft Alliance, a Puget Sound based corporation formed by and for northwest craftspeople. At the time Dawson joined the organization as an investor, it had been putting on a show in Seattle called The Best of the Northwest for 6 years. Mr. Dawson was eventually elected to the board of directors of that organization and then assumed the presidency of the board in 1994. During his tenure as president, the organization successfully developed another Best of the Northwest show in Portland, OR.

Dawson moved his studio from the 15th and Willamette location out of a need for more room in about 1993. Moving from the approx. 600 sq. ft. of the Willamette St. operation to over 900 sq. ft. on the northwest corner of 13th and Lawrence allowed for the expansion of both the shop and showroom. As Dawson was at this time branching out to writing and photography, the new venue provided enough space for tabletop commercial photography. Dawson has, in the last several years, been published in a variety of national magazines in such diverse topics as motor coaching, (product review of Marathon’s first slide-out Prevost), commercial photography and jewelry manufacturing techniques.

The “destination location” strategy used to develop his business worked well in those beginning years, but a move to a more visible location not only enhanced the long-term viability of the business but allowed for the development other market segments as well. The current location in downtown Eugene, provides more opportunity to tap into the growing tourist market here in Eugene, as well as providing a safer, more comfortable venue for his growing local clientele.

Dawson says, “The fact that a business such as mine could develop as it did over the years with no capital investment or franchise recognition, by simply pulling on the bootstraps, speaks well for Eugene as a community. There are few locations in the world where a county boy like myself could move to a city and “grow” a business that is not only profitable but also fun. I love my work!”