PROVO – Bridging the gap between goldsmith and client is the innovative, new store Forge Jewelry Works.

The store is owned by Orem and Highland local Shawn Mikkelson, a longtime rock enthusiast whose lifelong dream of owning a jewelry store recently came to fruition.

His vision allows clients to design their own pieces at one of three state-of-the-art jewelry design stations.

Mikkelson said that times are changing and many jewelers, traditional businesses with showrooms full of chandeliers and gold filigree, aren’t evolving with the clients’ current demands.

“Nowadays, a young college girl will pin the ring she wants on Pinterest, come in with her phone out and ask ‘Do you have this ring?’ Thing is, if we don’t, she can design it right here. Twenty-two years ago, when I went with my wife to pick out a ring, it was different. We picked from a limited selection. Now, we can make it exactly like you want it,” said Mikkelson.

Though they cater to bridal customers, Forge Jewelry Works is a full-service jeweler. The decor is casual-industrial with its polished concrete floor, firepit and brushed metal vent, exposed rafters and galvanized piping beneath the jewelry cases.

In the middle of the gallery is a rounded half-wall topped with protective glass, behind which the goldsmith, Richard Beach, forges custom rings.

“Here the customer is the focus of creation. People love to watch Richard work on pieces and set diamonds,” Mikkelson said. “They can talk to him and ask questions while he works. We encourage it. And there’s very little overhead, because you’re buying direct. It won’t break your budget.”

“You really have to see it to understand why it is different,” said Doug Welton, a friend of the Mikkelsons and a long-time jewelry salesman. “For the most part, their rings are not locked in cases, but out in the open for clients to try on at their leisure without pressure from salespeople.”

Mikkelson and his store director, Darrell Mauerman, served as managers at Sierra-West for many years. But for Mikkelson, the fascination with gemology went back to childhood when he had a rock collection displayed in egg cartons that was the envy of his neighborhood.

His dad, a junior high jewelry-making teacher, brought him along to rock shows, where he dealt in precious stones.

With 19 years of involvement in the business and being one of a small number of GIA Graduate Gemologists in the state, Mikkelson relies on experience and artistic talents to fuel success. Beach has had 30 years of experience forging.

“They are some of the finest people you will ever meet,” Welton said. “Shawn and Darrell are good guys with great vision.”

Though open now, Forge Jewelry Works is planning a grand opening celebration from July 14-19 complete with catered refreshments and giveaways.

The store is located at 2255 N. University Parkway in Provo.