Retailer says charm craze reaches area

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Dec 2, 2002 by Ray Carter The Journal Record

~T"Italian charm bracelets have been a craze on the West Coast for several years. Now, Phyllis Dakil Duncan, co-owner of "Charmed, I'm Sure" at Sooner Fashion Mall, believes that craze is reaching Oklahoma and presents a real business opportunity. "It's just starting to trickle down to other states and this area," she said. Duncan, who divides her time between California (where she lives) and Oklahoma (where she was raised), has stores in both states selling Italian charms and bracelets. Duncan opened her first store in California this year, but quickly found that demand also existed in Oklahoma.

"The thing that got us going here in Oklahoma actually was the Italian festival in McAlester," Duncan said. On a trip back to her hometown for a class reunion that coincided with the festival, Duncan rented space at the event and "did phenomenally well." Duncan soon began investigating possible locations in Oklahoma, and has opened "Charmed, I'm Sure," at the Sooner Fashion Mall in Norman. When she first approached local mall officials to see about renting space, those officials "hadn't heard" of Italian bracelets, Duncan said.

By May, those officials were actively seeking someone to sell the items because the craze was reaching Oklahoma. Italian charms have been growing in popularity in the United States over the last eight years, but the niche market turned into a craze on the West Coast in the last three years, Duncan said, and she believes the heartland will soon catch up with that trend. "Three years ago, I hadn't heard of them," she noted.

Duncan believes charm bracelets have wide appeal, noting the items have been popular on and off for years. "I remember the regular, old- fashioned charm bracelets," she said. "And that's what you got somebody for a special birthday -- sweet 16 or whatever." But those bracelets tended to snag clothing, Duncan said, while the Italian bracelets she retails don't have that problem due to improved design.

And the charms have appeal because they allow people a wide range of personalization. "They tell a story about you," Duncan said. For example, she said a mother may have a charm representing each of her children or a charm representing the occupation of each child, or even charms representing her own hobbies and activities. "The reason people like these is that they do tell a story and they are unique," Duncan said. A "starter" bracelet has 14 links, and Duncan noted that a wide range of charms are available to fill those slots -- everything from religious symbols to licensed Disney characters to a wide range of miscellaneous symbols. "We even have a garlic clove, a chef's hat, coffee cups, megaphones a tractor," Duncan said.

"We have a guy fishing in a boat." The charms can cost anywhere from $9 to $69 dollars apiece, Duncan said. One of the latest designs -- which Duncan believes will prove popular in Oklahoma -- is the University of Oklahoma logo.

Getting the go-ahead to do a licensed OU charm was a four-month process. "I had no idea what you had to go through to get something licensed, I really didn't," she said. The OU charm retails for $29, Duncan said.