Heard It On Main St. with Nicole Vallario, Owner of Falena

Nicole Vallario, Owner of Falena Fine Jewelry in Irvington, NY sat with Danielle Centofanti-Davidson, Owner of Main St. Business Strategies, to share the ins and outs of turning a digital business into a brick-and-mortar in Westchester County, and the highs and lows of business development.

Thanks so much for chatting, Nicole! Let’s start with learning a bit about the type of business you own and how long you've been in the game. 

Yes! I started Falena Fine Jewelry digitally in 2021 and hosted pop-ups and trunk shows as a showcase. I always intended on opening a brick-and-mortar in Westchester one day. I'm a born and bred Westchesterite and love the small business community in this area. After a couple of years of operating digitally, I opened my store at 51 Main Street in Irvington in May of 2023. 

Nicole at one of her many Falena pop-ups between 2021-2023

How did you get your start in the fine jewelry industry? Was it driven by passion, happen-stance, familial ties, education, or something else entirely? 

After attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in NY, I was in the wholesale sales arena for 17 years. I eventually transitioned over to brand-side selling internationally and domestically. Working on the sales team, you’re a bridge to a lot of the adjacent departments within an organization like production, design, marketing, and PR, so that was where I learned most of the fundamentals of business operations.  

Also, my Father is an entrepreneur. He owns a contracting company in Westchester called Bashford Company and has been in business since the 70s, so I'm tuned into the small business grind and have that same entrepreneurial spirit - everyone says I'm exactly like my Father in that way. It helps to grow up in that environment, it doesn't seem so daunting or unfamiliar to be an entrepreneur yourself. 

In navigating the creation of your business, what did your day-to-day look like? Who were the people you were speaking with the most (partners, contractors, aka the people that became your close "friend", for better or for worse), what type of DIY projects did you take on, and what did the late nights and early mornings look like? 

With Falena transitioning into a brick-and-mortar, there's the whole saga of building out the space with contractors and building departments, being within code, and meeting with the architectural review board, while keeping in mind that not everyone has a 7-day turnaround. For example, some boards only meet once a month so you may not get an answer for 30 days, and you feel like a sitting duck. It's hard to keep really strict timelines and goals because of it - even when the goal is the biggest of all -opening your doors on a specific day. Learning to deal with other people’s timelines was unexpected. 

Outside of that, my brain operates more creatively than anything else, so I might have a great idea for the shop, but does it make sense financially? Pulling back on your ideal scenario is hard in that way. I'm often at the mercy of the lead times for the brands I represent so that impacts my shipping and freight-related expenses. Transport and duties were highly impacted by COVID-related operational changes as well. My display cases, as an example, are from China, but the company wasn’t shipping internationally, so I had to find a freight shipper in Queens to represent me, give them power of attorney to receive my displays [cases] from the port in China, then cleared at the port in JFK, and eventually sent to the store. I ended up paying as much in shipping the [display] cases as I did for the cases themselves. That was the thing that kept me on pins and needles the most. I'm a fine jewelry store, I can't open my shop without the cases! But they made it. Made it for my May 4th opening. 

The display cases in question.

(they were worth the effort)

Through this process, have you changed the way you plan, strategize, and activate? For example, if a new brand or partner asks to collaborate with Falena, do your timelines look different now than they did when you were first dipping your toes in developing your business? 

YES. At the moment, I have a special order coming in from Montana, but shipping has been postponed for a week because Bozeman, Montana is experiencing terrible weather, and their local UPS is understaffed. The tracking label and product have been sitting at the facility for 5-days and have yet to ship. I've learned that not every city or state can operate like New York. When I was in corporate, things were done so quickly because it was mass market, demand was different, and we had so many employees across all different departments that were on the case if there was a hiccup. You take a step back on the priority-ranked totem pole, unfortunately, as a small business owner. 

What strategies have worked well in bringing customers, clients, and audiences through your front door?

Considering I’m in a small town, word of mouth is crucial, and having a destination for clients to visit is key. But, delighting them when they walk through the door is the most important piece for me. Welcoming a customer in, chatting them up, and sharing a bit about the brands we carry always generates a warm environment and is something I hold in high regard.

On the digital side, social media has been huge for me as well. I’m trying to convey a clean, consistent message for my brand daily.

Also, collaborating with other brands via trunk shows or pop-ups as a way to reach their network was my organic strategy when I first opened and something I’m continuing to do in 2024. We have a couple coming up in February that I’m really excited about.

Having gone through the business development process, what's been the most gratifying aspect of owning your own business?

Is it delighting the customer and seeing how happy they are with their purchase, or is it a personal win and knowing the decisions I’m making are for my own business rather than someone else’s corporation? Whether the decisions are right or wrong, I have to roll with my own punches and reap all the benefits or pitfalls. 

I also love the conversational moments in between showing a beautiful piece to my clients. They aren’t buying every time they walk in and that’s O.K., they don’t need to be.  I want them to come in and see something they love, come back, eventually buy it, and feel that it’s an heirloom-type piece they’re proud to own.

Lastly, I’d love to get to the point where I can have a team that’s passionate about the fine jewelry industry and wants to learn, I loved leading teams in the past, so that’s a long-term goal of mine. 

What’s the best advice you’d give someone starting their own business? Or what’s most impactful aha moment as a business owner?

There’s this notion that starting a business immediately means hardship and that people often question why someone would make that choice. I think for me, you just know in your body whether or not you want to or can open your own business - it’s a feeling you have inside that often the people questioning “why are you doing it?” don’t feel themselves. They can’t relate to it. If it’s something that’s always burned in you, you have to go for it. 

Another business owner in town told me the story of when they first shared their business idea with family and friends. After going through the concept, one family member said, if you don’t do it, you’re “a loser.” Now, I would never use the word “loser”, but if you have the passion, drive, opportunity, and support to execute your dream, you need to give it a try. 

This is a different kind of question, but what are your hype songs? What gets you amped up to tackle that DIY project, or get you through a busy day? 

I’m a big fan of Bill Withers’ ‘Lovely Day’, ‘Listen To The Music’ by The Doobie Brothers, and ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac. I’m always playing Fleetwood Mac in the shop. 

Falena, 51 Main St. Irvington, NY

Photo by Kate Pauley of Create Dinners