Maggie

I received my first Kiva loan back in 2021 while I was operating my retail clothing boutique business. I was a former lawyer and brand new business owner. I was extremely excited to be running my own business, finally out of the profession that was wearing me thin. The Kiva loan allowed me to purchase necessary inventory and business equipment I needed to be successful in my boutique.

We later added permanent jewelry in our boutique because a PJ business did not yet exist within three hours of us. It seemed like the perfect shared interest for my husband, who has a welding background, and myself. We never expected it to grow as it has. We were so successful with the jewelry that we expanded to add another welder, a part-time employee, and a dual laser engraver so our customers can further customize their high quality jewelry. Finally, I had to make the difficult decision to close the clothing boutique in order to focus on expanding the jewelry business. I filed a DBA and although we are still operating as the LLC "Market Street De Pere, LLC," we now use our DBA trademark "GB Links Jewelry."

We fell into permanent jewelry and it turned into so much more than I would have thought possible. I found a love for making my own jewelry that I didn't know existed inside me. My favorite part of GB Links is 100% our customers. I love hearing their stories about them and the jewelry they are wearing. Every piece of jewelry tells a story and we love to create unique pieces of jewelry that will forever be a part of our customers' collection. I truly think we have certain characteristics that set us apart from the entire PJ community, and I know that has had a role in our success. We treat our customers as friends, no matter if they are regulars or not. We have created a modern take on the traditional fine jewelry store, but we also offer an experience every time you walk through the door. I love to introduce and try out new techniques and creative ideas through GB Links - I know we will grow into something much bigger and cannot wait to see what is in-store for us going forward.