Business owner looking forward to second year

Cheryl Thompson, owner of Something Precious located at 7341 Chapman Plaza, celebrated a milestone on May 15th. The store that she opened with her late husband in Kingsport in 1989 turned one year old at its’ new location in South Knoxville. Thompson, whose son Kendrick works as the in-house Jeweler, has lived in the Seymour/South Knoxville area for 30 years and decided to move the store closer to home two years ago after the death of her husband, local Pastor Ruble Thompson. “It took me a while to get my act together, moving a business is a major undertaking,” Thompson said. “Business was always good at the Kingsport location but I guess you could say that thing’s have been erratic here since Sept. 11th. Certain seasons like Christmas, Valentines Day and Mothers Day have been very good, but the rest of the time requires a little ingenuity.” “I had a customer in the store last week who said that we are probably one of South Knoxville’s best kept secrets. I told him that I am doing my best to make sure we don’t stay a secret.” The customer base has methodically began to pick up as more people have discovered the relatively new location, sometimes by word-of-mouth. “This is my first time here,” said a customer who was in the store last Friday. “I saw a friend at church and told her that I was going to buy a card for my nephew’s graduation and she asked if I had tried this store. Now that I’m here, I can see why she recommended it, there are so many nice things to choose from.” Thompson said that she has set several goals for the business in the second year, among them is to finish their web site (it is already very close) and to add even more designer pieces to their line. “I really believe that we’ll see a lot of growth in the second year here,” Thompson stated. “I think that this shopping center is strategically located. I think we’ll especially benefit when Wal-Mart opens across the street.” In addition to the natural gemstones which they specialize in, Something Precious also offer large diamonds–One Carrot and above–at eight percent over cost, as well as doing custom work and repairs when necessary. Thompson and her late husband began specializing in natural gemstones after a mission to Brazil led them to discover some of the precious minerals that are available in the South American mines. “We do specialize in gemstones that are mined, especially emeralds,” Thompson added. “I bring them back from Brazil. “My husband and I did a lot of mission work in Brazil. We’d work in the churches and sometimes he’d go out to the mines and sometimes the gemstone dealers would come to him, wherever he was preaching.” Something Precious is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM until 6PM. You can reach her at 577-7727.