Places & Spaces: Kootenai Brown Historical Park

Need a watch battery changed in Pincher Creek? Blackburn Jewellers is the place to go. Need a chain re-hooked, a watch band shortened or a gift wrapped with ribbon? The store has been doing those jobs for generations.

On Sept. 3, Blackburn Jewellers will mark 90 years on Main Street — a milestone that, for owner Doris Blackburn, carries a second, more personal anniversary. It has also been 30 years since she left her life in Edmonton and returned home to help her aging father run the family business.

When Doris returned in 1996, she thought she was simply coming home to give her father a hand. Instead, she became the latest person responsible for carrying a family business into its next generation. Three decades later, she is looking ahead to a centennial anniversary.

A phone call that changed everything

Doris grew up in the business, working at the store on Saturdays and during Christmas. She learned from her father, Laurie Blackburn, who was the town watchmaker for more than 60 years.

She left Pincher Creek after graduating in 1979 and went to university, later settling in Edmonton. In 1987, she briefly returned to work at the store while her sister was on maternity leave.

By the mid 1990s, however, her father was getting older and running the business largely on his own. Doris’s sister called in 1995 and said their father needed help.

“I knew that I would come back to help my dad because, in my life, my parents never said no to me,” she says.

She expected the move to be temporary. Instead, she spent the next 3½ years working alongside her father.

Laurie died of a brain hemorrhage in 2000. By then, Doris was deeply involved in the business and continuing it felt like the natural next step.

“I just never really thought ahead, because we can’t plan our future,” she says. “I’m so grateful that I moved back.”

Lessons from her father

Doris says her father taught her the value of doing a job properly, even the smallest ones. She remembers him sending her out to sweep the sidewalk, then checking her work himself.

The lesson was about more than sweeping. He believed that if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing well — a principle Doris says has stayed with her in business and in life.

“If you have honest and direct communication, then you can have a clean conscience,” she says. “I think that’s very important in business.”

Working in a male-dominated trade

Watch repair and jewelry making have long been considered male-dominated trades. Doris says she faced some skepticism when she took over the business, but it did not last long.

“Most people are very accepting of a female, especially if you’re confident that you can do the work,” she says.

After her father’s death, an older gentleman phoned to ask whether she knew how to use the tools. Doris grew up around tools. Her father taught her how to use them and she was always the one doing repairs around her own house.

“My dad bought me all my tools,” she says. “My dream job would be to work in a hardware store and sell tools.”

“When you have confidence in yourself, people will believe you,” Doris says. “I never doubted my own abilities. I think that’s the biggest key in any success.”

Changing with the times

Doris says the jewelry and watch business looks very different than it did 30 years ago.

Camera phones ended the demand for picture frames, once a steady seller in the store. Smartphones have also cut into watch sales, though some customers still buy watches as fashion pieces.

“There’s not a lot of young people wearing watches,” she says.

Technology has changed how the store operates, too, with Doris introducing the store’s first computer in 1999.

Her store windows remain important. A recent display called “The Mountains Are Calling” drew tourists into the store, including one visitor who sold Doris a new line of local honey.

“All my store windows are huge attractors,” she says.

A full-service store

Blackburn Jewellers sells jewelry, watches and giftware. Doris also handles custom orders, including engagement rings, and a goldsmith has provided services for about 30 years.

Repairs remain part of what she considers important to a small community. The demands of running the business mean she now does less watch repair herself, but she still changes batteries and handles minor jewelry repairs.

She also cleans jewelry and can arrange specialized work through her goldsmith.

For Doris, those services are part of what makes an independent business valuable.

Family ties

Doris’s oldest son, who now lives in Lethbridge, has helped in the store over the years. He recently helped sort through her father’s belongings for a museum donation.

Her father’s legacy was honoured last year when his workbench and handmade tools were donated to Kootenai Brown Historical Park.

Doris is grateful her father’s tools now have a permanent home in a replica of the original Blackburn Jewellers shop.

Advice for the next generation

Doris says small business ownership requires both a love of people and solid business skills.

“If you have a passion for business and you love to sell jewelry, then it would be a really good idea for you to have a jewelry store,” she says.

She encourages young women interested in the trade to take business and accounting courses, and to be prepared for a slow start.

“You need to be prepared to earn less until you can establish yourself,” she says.

Celebrating 90 years

The anniversary celebration on Sept. 3 includes a one-day sale and a chance for the community to stop by. There will also be giveaways and a draw.

Doris is serving carrot cake — her father’s favourite. Her sister is travelling from Airdrie for the event, along with her mother and former staff members, including one who worked at the store for 23 years.

“We’re hoping that people will come and have a piece of cake,” Doris says. “They don’t have to buy something, just drop in to say hello.”

Looking toward 100

Doris says Pincher Creek’s downtown has grown stronger in recent years, with new restaurants drawing more foot traffic to Main Street.

“Pincher Creek is never going to die,” she says. “We’re only going to grow.”

As for her own store, Doris plans to keep adapting, whether that means expanding her online presence or bringing in new products. She wants the business her father built in 1936 to still be standing a decade from now, when it reaches its 100th anniversary.

“I’m hoping the business will continue,” she says.