By Sara Siekierski
For StatelineBusiness

JANESVILLE -- Gems & Stems, at 2501 Milton Ave., first opened its doors in April 2005 as a way to offer something new to Janesville and the surrounding area.

Thomas Vickery, owner and president of Gems & Stems, said he wanted his business to be different from the normal department stores and give the area something it didn't have before. As a small, independent business, Vickery said being different was necessary to compete with larger corporations.

"It's not necessarily beating them, you just do things different," Vickery said. "And that's one of our taglines. We are different because we do things different."

Gems & Stems, owned by Vickery and his wife, Jodi, is both a custom jewelry and complete floral store. Much of the work is done in-house, and the store features jewelry lines customers are unable to find elsewhere, such as Strellman's Dramatic Jewelry, which is a family-owned business with American-made jewelry. All jewelry is hand-selected by Vickery, and neither the designers nor Vickery work with large corporations.

"I choose to deal with independent designers, which allows us the freedom to hand-select what we're doing," Vickery said.

The store also sells colored diamonds, custom mountings and the popular tungsten and titanium rings. All repairs and cleanings are done in-house.

The complete floral store offers a wide variety of flowers for all occasions, and customers can send flowers in and out of town. Gems & Stems also sells balloons, giftware and collectibles, such as Seiko Melodies in Motion clocks.

Because Gems & Stems offers jewelry and floral all in one store, Vickery said customers can come in and get everything they need all at once.

"It's a one-stop-shop for special occasions," Vickery said.

In the three years they've been open, Vickery said the business continues to grow and do well.

"We grow every month," Vickery said. "Especially in a hard time, it's very difficult to do, but it shows we're doing something right."

Because the business is family owned and operated, Vickery said customers can expect excellent customer service and guaranteed satisfaction on all of their purchases.

"If we can't give you the best service, then we aren't doing something right," Vickery said.

Gems & Stems is open 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday. Customers can also call (608)757-4367 for private appointments and consulting.