Jewelry, coin shop opens next to Master Donuts
Michael Lannom is the owner of the new Lannom Jewelry & Coin store in Clinton. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Michael Lannom is the owner of the store, which deals in diamonds, silver, gold, coins, and watches, he said.
He buys and sells all of those products, and also plans to get into the jewelry-repair business as soon as he acquires the necessary equipment for that, he said last week.
Lannom, who lives in Oak Ridge, said he grew up in Kingston, where his dad was a coin dealer.
“We were always going to coin shows,” he said.
“I also met a lot of jewelers, and I got into the diamond business, mostly selling to wholesalers,” Lannom said.
He opened his Clinton store in May, and he said about 60 to 65% of his customers come in for the coin business.
On the jewelry side, “We mostly do sterling silver, but we’re always buying gold,” he said.
“I’m already doing some jewelry repair, but I’m still gathering all the equipment I need,” he said.
“Soon, I hope to be a full-service jeweler,” he added.
Lannom has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from the University of Tennessee, he said.
Store hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Lannom said.
His girlfriend Josie Keener operates her own hobby-style business in the jewelry store, selling crocheted fiber art, she said.
She makes all of the products she sells, which mostly are hand-knitted cryptid figures, like Big Foot and the lot.
The entire back wall of the jewelry store has shelves displaying her cryptid characters, which include holiday-themed collections.
“I have a lot of fun doing this, and I sell a lot of them at weekend shows and themed events, such as at the Dark Market in Knoxville,” Keener said.
“I’ve been doing this for about 10 years,” she said.
She’s also planning to set up a website.