Oldest Mark Loren Designs Receipt Survives Fire and Extreme Home Makeover
Contest for oldest receipt, surprise hidden treasures mark Fort Myers jeweler’s 25th year in business for customers, community.
Fort Myers, FL, April 16, 2010 --(PR.com)-- When Tampa resident Thomas Tate met jeweler Mark Loren at the gym 23 years ago, he could never have imagined the impact the chance meeting would have on his life. The recent transplant wanted to design an engagement ring to present his girlfriend back in Ohio and Loren invited him to come by his shop.
There, he met Loren’s assistant, Cynthia, who helped him pick the perfect diamond and molds for his custom design. After Thomas’s final trip to the shop to pick up his finished ring, Cynthia remembers telling her boss his gesture was so romantic. She wished she could find a man like that.
Thomas’s broken engagement four months later turned out to be her chance. His fiancé didn’t want to leave Ohio, so she called off the wedding and gave back the ring. Thomas went back to Loren’s shop to see if they may be able to sell it.
“We typically didn’t take customers’ purchases back to sell on consignment, but I asked Mark if we could make an exception in this case,” Cynthia says. “It took several weeks. Thomas would come in once a week to check on it, and finally said when it sold, he’d take me out to dinner. That was our first date.”
Marriage, a move to Tampa and a daughter named Loren – after the man who led to their meeting followed. So, too, did notoriety. The couple settled on Davis Island next to a small airport. One June day in 2006, a small plane made an emergency landing during a storm and crashed into their house. Later, they were lucky enough to be chosen to receive a new dream home by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
As they put their things away in their new home, a bundle of keepsakes that had survived the fire, which happened to include some photos of a ring and a receipt from the original engagement ring, ended up in a box in the garage. Thomas didn’t give it much thought until he received a flier in the mail announcing Mark Loren Designs’ 25th anniversary and subsequent search for the oldest receipt.
“When I saw that, I thought to myself ‘I bet I still have that old receipt,’” Thomas says. “I started going through the stuff in the garage and a couple of days later, I found it. It was sealed in plastic because I’d had it in a plastic bag and the fire in our old house made it melt. “
“The receipt is very special to us,” Cynthia adds. “It’s from the date we met.”
Unbelievable stories like this are pretty common for Mark Loren, a Fort Myers jewelry designer and owner of Mark Loren Designs. In the company’s 25 years of businesses, they’ve had more than their share of good Samaritans looking to return lost gems to resetting or repairing family heirlooms to giving unique pieces away to lucky and deserving community members.
The largest part of his anniversary celebration was a “Finders Keepers” promotion, during which he and his staff placed 25 of their exquisite pieces around Southwest Florida for others to find. Loren says he was inspired by a man who came to his shop with a lost ring he’d found, hopeful the staff could help find its owner. Loren thought the story could be even better if average people could find his pieces and keep them.
Patricia Pennington, an employee at the Bagel Factory on College Parkway, was one of the first to “found” a turquoise pendant while cleaning off a table in the dining area. It was just days after she’d lost a ring she loved, so the found necklace was a sort of solace.
“I was cleaning off the table and the bag just dropped on the floor,” Pennington says. “When I opened it, I didn’t think it was real until I talked to Mark. Everyone at the shop was so happy I found it. They knew I had lost my ring and was upset about it.”
In December, Loren paired up with renowned chocolatier and fellow Fort Myers businessman Norman Love to hide baubles in boxes of his signature chocolates. Janice Kemp, Robb & Stucky’s marketing and business development director is one of the customers who “felt lucky” and stopped by Love’s shop just before Christmas. She found a Loren-licious surprise inside.
Fans of Mark Loren Designs’ page on Facebook caught the finder’s stories as they came in.
“It’s been a great year and we’ve enjoyed celebrating with the people and businesses that have supported us and helped us grow through the years,” Loren says.
About Mark Loren Designs
Mark Loren Designs is a jeweler and has offered custom designed jewelry, repairs and recreations of sentimental heirlooms for 25 years in Southwest Florida. His efforts have earned high praise by leaders in the jewelry industry. More information and examples of his work can be found online at www.marklorendesigns.com.
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There, he met Loren’s assistant, Cynthia, who helped him pick the perfect diamond and molds for his custom design. After Thomas’s final trip to the shop to pick up his finished ring, Cynthia remembers telling her boss his gesture was so romantic. She wished she could find a man like that.
Thomas’s broken engagement four months later turned out to be her chance. His fiancé didn’t want to leave Ohio, so she called off the wedding and gave back the ring. Thomas went back to Loren’s shop to see if they may be able to sell it.
“We typically didn’t take customers’ purchases back to sell on consignment, but I asked Mark if we could make an exception in this case,” Cynthia says. “It took several weeks. Thomas would come in once a week to check on it, and finally said when it sold, he’d take me out to dinner. That was our first date.”
Marriage, a move to Tampa and a daughter named Loren – after the man who led to their meeting followed. So, too, did notoriety. The couple settled on Davis Island next to a small airport. One June day in 2006, a small plane made an emergency landing during a storm and crashed into their house. Later, they were lucky enough to be chosen to receive a new dream home by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
As they put their things away in their new home, a bundle of keepsakes that had survived the fire, which happened to include some photos of a ring and a receipt from the original engagement ring, ended up in a box in the garage. Thomas didn’t give it much thought until he received a flier in the mail announcing Mark Loren Designs’ 25th anniversary and subsequent search for the oldest receipt.
“When I saw that, I thought to myself ‘I bet I still have that old receipt,’” Thomas says. “I started going through the stuff in the garage and a couple of days later, I found it. It was sealed in plastic because I’d had it in a plastic bag and the fire in our old house made it melt. “
“The receipt is very special to us,” Cynthia adds. “It’s from the date we met.”
Unbelievable stories like this are pretty common for Mark Loren, a Fort Myers jewelry designer and owner of Mark Loren Designs. In the company’s 25 years of businesses, they’ve had more than their share of good Samaritans looking to return lost gems to resetting or repairing family heirlooms to giving unique pieces away to lucky and deserving community members.
The largest part of his anniversary celebration was a “Finders Keepers” promotion, during which he and his staff placed 25 of their exquisite pieces around Southwest Florida for others to find. Loren says he was inspired by a man who came to his shop with a lost ring he’d found, hopeful the staff could help find its owner. Loren thought the story could be even better if average people could find his pieces and keep them.
Patricia Pennington, an employee at the Bagel Factory on College Parkway, was one of the first to “found” a turquoise pendant while cleaning off a table in the dining area. It was just days after she’d lost a ring she loved, so the found necklace was a sort of solace.
“I was cleaning off the table and the bag just dropped on the floor,” Pennington says. “When I opened it, I didn’t think it was real until I talked to Mark. Everyone at the shop was so happy I found it. They knew I had lost my ring and was upset about it.”
In December, Loren paired up with renowned chocolatier and fellow Fort Myers businessman Norman Love to hide baubles in boxes of his signature chocolates. Janice Kemp, Robb & Stucky’s marketing and business development director is one of the customers who “felt lucky” and stopped by Love’s shop just before Christmas. She found a Loren-licious surprise inside.
Fans of Mark Loren Designs’ page on Facebook caught the finder’s stories as they came in.
“It’s been a great year and we’ve enjoyed celebrating with the people and businesses that have supported us and helped us grow through the years,” Loren says.
About Mark Loren Designs
Mark Loren Designs is a jeweler and has offered custom designed jewelry, repairs and recreations of sentimental heirlooms for 25 years in Southwest Florida. His efforts have earned high praise by leaders in the jewelry industry. More information and examples of his work can be found online at www.marklorendesigns.com.
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Contact
Mark Loren Designs
Erika Houser
239-278-3900
www.marklorendesigns.com/
Erika Houser
239-278-3900
www.marklorendesigns.com/
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