A LaFayette jeweler is drumming up support for a music festival as a way to support downtown businesses.
LaFayette Downtown Development Authority, or DDA, selected Chapman Jewelry and Repair as the May Downtown Business of the Month because of owner Josh Chapman’s tireless support for the Memorial Day Music Festival, according to the DDA Promotions Committee. Mr. Chapman, who helped to spearhead efforts to establish the annual festival last year, is soliciting financial support for this year’s festival and pitching in to help however he can.
“There is a level of service you can’t get anywhere like you can at a small business,” said Mr. Chapman, who enjoys small-town businesses, both as the owner of one and as a customer at other establishments.
Mr. Chapman said he shops at locally owned businesses whenever possible, and he became involved in the music festival as a way to provide entertainment to local residents and to attract visitors to downtown businesses.
“Josh volunteers to help with special events and acts as an unofficial spokesman for merchants around the Square when the city has sought input on projects and plans,” LaFayette Main Street and Economic Development Director Catherine Edgemon said. “He’s also a member of the LaFayette Rotary Club.”
Business owners share opinions with Mr. Chapman about downtown projects that they may not voice at public meetings, and he shares that information with city staff while keeping the sources of the feedback confidential, Ms. Edgemon said.
He also helped to publicize the DDA’s downtown revitalization goals when he received the DDA’s first façade grant, she said. Mr. Chapman removed metal siding and re-pointed the bricks on the front of his store, Shear Time and Buttercup Alley.
Mr. Chapman started working part-time at various jewelry stores while in high school. He worked at Collett Jewelers until spring 1997. After that business on the northwest corner of the Square closed, he opened his shop in November 1997 in the same location. He purchased the building in September 2001.
Mr. Chapman earned an associate’s degree in business through Dalton State College and attended the University of West Georgia. He graduated from Holland School for Jewelers.
His future plans are to expand his inventory and to keep his business location in downtown.
Mr. Chapman has a 12-year-old son, Colby. He and his wife Karla, who teaches math at LaFayette Middle School, have a two-year-old daughter, Claire.
Many Walker County residents know his family. His father, Buddy, operates a sawmill and served as county commissioner. His mother, Delores, works at LaFayette High School. His brothers, Phil and Zack, are a rodeo rider and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate, respectively.
Chapman Jewelry & Repair
100 W. LaFayette Square
LaFayette, Ga. 30728
Phone: 638-0100
Website: www.chapmanjewelry.net
Email: chapmanjewelry@aol.com
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon; extended hours for holidays
Services:
- Jewelry repairs
- Stone-mounting
- Estate jewelry
- Watch, car key fob and other small appliance battery replacements
- Eyeglass frame repairs
- Watch band sizing
- Special orders
- Online sales
- Scrap gold purchases