by Ilana Gensler
The bottom of Main Street in Edgartown offers glitter in two forms: the magical reflection of dancing waves that shimmy about the base of boats and docks, and the sparkle of silver jewelry that radiates reflections off of shop windows and glass cases. Whatever Sterling, responsible for the second form of eye-catching beauty, is like heaven for the jewelry lover. With walls covered in different hand-crafted pieces, one could spend hours gazing amongst the never-ending selection only to realize that the sun has set and the store does need to close at some point. General Manager Deborah Viglas is quite familiar with the spell her store’s jewelry casts over its shoppers, and revealed through a brief interview some of her favorite reactions.
(General Manager Deborah Viglas)
This Week: When did you begin working at Whatever Sterling and how did you first become involved with the store?
Deborah: I’m in the real estate business, and when it was first opening nine years ago I was aware of who was leasing it and was able to help set up the store.
This Week: What would you say makes the store unique?
Deborah: None of our jewelry is mass-produced, therefore the pieces aren’t common; they’re from all over the place! In fact, we design a lot of pieces and have them made special just for us. Our items aren’t Pandora or Alex and Ani, they’re one of a kind handcrafted sterling silver. They aren’t pieces you’ll see on someone walking down the street.
This Week: What is the most popular item you sell?
Deborah: Cuffs… charms.. really everything!
This Week: What qualities do you look for in the people that you hire?
Deborah: They have to be: helpful, knowledgeable and have great customer service.
This Week: Is there a specific age group that your store appeals to?
Deborah: Twenty-something’s all the way up to the eighties!
This Week: Is there anything else you’d like to add about the store?
Deborah: It’s fun to work here! We have many ‘regulars’ that return year after year so I look forward to seeing them. You really develop relationships with a lot of the people. They’ll return staying ‘This is our favorite store! I get tons of compliments on this, Deborah gestures to an invisible bracelet on her wrist. Our location is great since we’re right on Main Street. I find that there’s never any hard pressure to sell our inventory because the pieces really sell themselves!
