There's nothing more important than family and doing something you love, according to Kristina Groetsch owner of Black Sea Jewelers.

        Kristina, along with her husband Jared, prides herself on their craft which is evident when walking into their store on Main Street in Pennsburg. The display cases are filled with custom-designed, unique pieces of jewelry as well as familiar brands of watches like Seiko, Citizen and Bulova.

        The journey began for Kristina by helping her parents who own a jewelry store in Bulgaria. After living 17 years of her life in her home country, and traveling the world whenever possible, she pursued her passion by earning a degree in art and another in jewelry design.

        Her craft took her to Philadelphia's South Street where she worked with her brother in his jewelry store then moved on to work for a manufacturing company where she worked in designing and setting stones.

        "The opportunity really gave me even more experience which was wonderful," she said.

        When asked what brought her to Pennsburg, Kristina explained she and her husband were looking for a safe place to raise a family and by chance came across a country home and empty store front perfect for their dream of opening a jewelry store.

        In April 2015, renovations on the store at 321 Main Street began with the official opening held Sept. 12, 2015.            

        Kristina explained her husband is able to take care of their three children at home while using his expertise with CAD (computer-aided design) and she handles more of the "hands-on" aspect through jewelry repairs, sales and design.

        Her true passion is design as what begins with a customer's vision of a particular piece ends with a custom-designed item.

        The first step is taking the customer's idea and putting it into a computer 3-D model that shows various angles of the piece, after approval from the customer, it is crafted into a wax model.

        The wax model allows the customer to see how it will look before it is actually crafted into a ring or other piece.  Upon customer approval, it is sent out to be made into whatever type of gold or silver desired.

        Where is it sent to be "created?"

        "Depending on how quickly the piece is needed, we either send out the wax model to Los Angeles to my sister's jewelry store or Philadelphia to my brother's store or, if needed, to my parents' store in Bulgaria," she said.

        When the piece is returned to Black Sea Jewelers, it is ready for any necessary filing and the stones are set by Groetsch.

        Lastly, she said, comes her  favorite part, "I call you and have you come in to sit down at our little table in the corner. This is where we pop a little bottle of champagne to celebrate and you open the box to look at your piece."

        "I love to see the look of happiness and excitement on a person's face when they see their finished piece. This really is a passion and a dream come true for us to be able to bring this joy to people lives," she said.

        "And we're so thankful for the support from people in the area, family and friends.  Their support means so much to us."

        Black Sea Jewelers welcomes customers to their 321 Main St., Pennsburg location during the hours of 10-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat. The store is closed Monday and Sunday but appointments are offered.

        Customers interested in designing something special for their loved one in honor of Mother's Day,  May 8, are asked to bring any ideas to the store.