Southport jewelry store turns 60

Written by Bill Bittar
Thursday, 05 November 2009 11:43

Philip Kasson went into business as a watchmaker in downtown Bridgeport after serving in World War II, and when the veteran died in 1963, his wife, Mirium, faced a dilemma.

The widowed homemaker had to decide what to do with her late husband’s shop and leftover tray of rings.

“People gave her all kinds of advice,” Susan Kasson said of her mother-in-law. “Some people said, ‘Sell the store.’ Others said, ‘No. It will keep you busy.’”

Mirium decided to keep it.

Now Kasson Jewelers of Southport is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Susan believes Philip Kasson is smiling down on his family’s store.

“If he’s looking down from Heaven, he’s probably saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe what happened to my store. I can’t believe what I started,’ Susan said. “I don’t think he ever dreamed it would thrive the way it did.”

Mirium, now 86, learned the jewelry business on the fly and expanded the store’s inventory to include gifts and collectibles.

Kasson Jewelers is now owned by Philip’s son, Alan, and his wife, Susan.

393 Pequot Avenue

A small, creme-colored house with dark blue awnings is among the quaint shops along Pequot Avenue in Southport. It is the home of Kasson Jewelers.

The store had moved from the downtown to the Black Rock section of Bridgeport before putting down roots in Southport in 1995.

Mirium retired five years earlier, but Susan said her mother-in-law still drops by on occasion. “Sometimes she wants to hear the register ring,” Susan said with a laugh.

On Friday afternoon, the Kassons’ son Michael, 25, helped a man pick out a pair of earrings for his wife, while goldsmith and designer Susan Bishop took care of another customer.

In a work station behind them, Alan and Peter de Hahn, a goldsmith and designer, used specialized tools to repair pieces of jewelry.

Susan and Joanne Miller, another staffer, worked quietly in a small corner office.

The busy scene was a far cry from when Alan’s father, Philip, ran his business as a one-man operation.

The Kassons’ also have two part-time employees on the payroll.

Alan makes her a ring

Susan Rona’s uncle Andrew Klein, a jeweler, set her up with Alan Kasson, and they met on a blind date in 1977. By the time Alan started working as an apprentice for Klein, he and Susan were an item.

Alan designed and crafted engagement and wedding rings, and the couple married in 1980.

“There was a diamond in the center and a flower on both sides, with a little diamond in each,” Susan said of her engagement ring. “The wedding band had no diamonds and every anniversary he added two diamonds in the flowers until it went all the way around.”

The Kassons have three sons and will celebrate their 30th anniversary in June.

Susan had taught in city schools, but also helped Alan at the jewelry store during the busy holiday seasons before earning certification as a sales associate from the American Gem Society and joining the business full time.

“You get to see the history of jewelry,” Susan said. “You don’t stop learning, and you’re dealing with people. And when you see a smile on their face when you hit the target, it’s a great feeling because you made someone happy.”

They’re Scott Keating

When Michael joined Kasson Jewelers, it allowed the store to embark on a third generation.

Michael, who gets his artistic ability from his father, took an Advanced Placement art course in his senior year at Joel Barlow High School with a concentration in jewelry.

He went on to study metalsmithing at Syracuse University and was an apprentice to award-winning jewelry designer Michael Bondanza for two summers.

Michael also attended the Revere Academy in San Francisco.

“I just like art,” Michael said. “I like to draw, and I like to paint, and you do both when designing jewelry. As long as you can draw, that’s the fun part for sure.”

Michael creates his designs on a computer and a milling machine carves wax for the molds.

The Kassons’ oldest son, Adam, 27, has a degree in marketing and works in the business end of the music industry in San Franciso. Susan said he has always been a great salesman, adding he has talked about coming back to Connecticut to join the family business.

One son who never left a doubt over his career choice was Alec, 20.

“I want to be a jeweler like my dad,” a young Alec routinely told adults asking him what he wanted to do when he grew up, according to Susan.

“He started learning designer names because we started carrying them,” Susan said of her youngest son.

When Alec was just 10-years-old, Susan said she wondered aloud what brand of earrings she was wearing. Alec overheard her, then surprised his mother.

“He said, ‘Mom, they’re Scott Keating. Just like your two bracelets,’” Susan recalled with a smile. “I said to him, ‘My God, how did you know that?’ I was blown away.”

When the family went to Sax Fifth Avenue, Susan said Alec always asked to go to the jewelry department to compare its merchandise with their Southport store back home.

Alec is studying for a certificate of studio arts with a concentration in jewelry design at Montgomery College in Maryland.

He plans to join Kasson Jewelers after graduating.

The beat goes on

While reflecting on his store’s 60th birthday, Alan thought about his father.

“He’d be blown away,” Alan said of Kasson Jewelers’ longevity. “He was in it for 14 years.”

Of his mother’s keeping the business going, Alan added, “I have to give her a lot of credit, being a homemaker, novice.”

Susan reflected on the generations of customers who came through their doors through the decades, always for happy occasions like birthdays, Valentines Day and weddings.

She said, “Now we’re seeing kids of customers coming here because they’re getting married.”