At SPREE, Lisa Ricke Helps Women Find their Finishing Touch
Skip to Content
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

At SPREE, Lisa Ricke Helps Women Find their Finishing Touch

Main Content

October 26, 2017

Written by Katie Kuhn, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

For Lisa Ricke, owner of Finishing Touch Jewelry, creating beautiful baubles for local women is more than just a job; it’s a true passion.

“For 16 years, I’ve had the privilege of being able to dream, design, and make jewelry from a little studio in my home,” says Lisa. “I love showing women that they don’t have to fit the cookie-cutter mold, they can find beautiful jewelry that is unique, their signature piece.”

Finishing Touch Jewelry has a unique business model – instead of creating jewelry in bulk and selling online, each piece is unique, hand made, and sold through intimate shows in the homes of local women.

“The slow food movement has taught us that not everyone wants something mass-produced. People want locally-sourced, quality food, and that is what I do with my jewelry,” says Lisa. “I’ve found that, by doing small-batch production, I can make something no one else is wearing. Women love that!”

Lisa enjoys attending gem shows and choosing the perfect freshwater pearls, aquamarine, and other gems for her pieces. “I feel like Julia Child going to the French market,” says Lisa. “I look carefully at each gem and pick out the best ones. That is where I draw inspiration – from stones and gems that are not hand-made, but God-made.”

Though she tried ecommerce in the past, Lisa decided to take a step back and focus on making in-person connections with her clients. Through home shows, Lisa’s clients can see the jewelry in person, hold it in their hand, try it on, and take it home the same day. Lisa even does alterations on pieces she sold previously. “I invest in my clients. They see me as their jewelry designer.”

At the upcoming Women United SPREE: Shopping for Change, a one-of-a-kind luxury shopping experience featuring local, women-owned retailers, you can have a chance to see, try on, and take home a unique piece from Lisa’s collection.  “This is your chance to find quality, creative jewelry with high-end components at a fair price,” says Lisa. “No jewelry store sells what I do.”

After last year’s SPREE event, Lisa heard from women who had bought her pieces that they loved. “It was such a joy to get that feedback,” says Lisa. “I got emails saying ‘I’ve been looking for something like this!’ it’s really not just about making a sale, but about giving my women clients something unforgettable.”

If you’re looking for jewelry that is “funky mixed with serious, classic mixed with fun,” join us at Women United SPREE: Shopping for Change next Thursday, November 2nd at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center in Waukesha. A portion of event proceeds will go to benefit United Way’s Community Fund.  Learn more and get your tickets today!

 

Have something to say? LEAVE A COMMENT:

The following required items were not provided or are in the wrong format. Please provide the required responses and submit again:

Your email address will not be published. All fields Required.

Name: 
  Please enter your name
  Please enter a valid email
Comment: 
  Please enter a comment

United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukehsa County blog and social media presence is designed as a source for information, sharing and collaboration about United Way and health and human service related topics. As part of our commitment to our readers, we expect all posters to abide by the following rules:
 • Posts and comments should be on topic, conversational, and serve to educate or entertain  
 • Posts and comments may not be unlawful, fraudulent, threatening, libelous, defamatory, discriminatory, harassing, obscene or otherwise rude or in poor taste  
 • Posts and comments may not be used for any commercial purpose or otherwise to promote any outside organization or its activities
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County reserves the right, at our discretion, to remove any post or to revoke a user’s privilege to post to our page. Comments found to be in conflict with the guidelines above will be removed promptly.
Comments are not necessarily those of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County and its employees and we do not guarantee the accuracy of these posts.