COUTURE: What’s notable about your store? What’s its unique point-of-view?

Rachael Nov: Gin & The Banker is named after my grandparents, and we wanted to pay homage to them while also designing a space that was a bit sharper, sexier and a little mysterious; we wanted people to question the name. The store is very much a reflection of my grandparent’s home and who they were, it’s a very special space that’s warm and inviting and it feels like I’m at home. And that’s how we want other people to feel.

What we try to do for our customers is curate for them and educate them on who we love and who we partner with, also keeping in mind trend-forecasting with the clothing store. We understand what’s coming into the fashion world and are able to translate that to the jewelry world. We believe in every brand we bring in here, and we’re careful to pay respect to each designer as an individual.

We don’t want things looking the same and we carry product that allows our clients to build their collections according to their taste and style and the statements they would like to make with their jewelry. For example, Iliana Makri, Lizzie Mandler and Azlee all do chains, but they all have a different, unique technique in how they’re handmade and what they can do.

COUTURE: What COUTURE designers or brands are your clients really responding to lately?

RN: We love the designers we work with, and we partner with people with whom we see longevity; it’s not just the product they create, it’s who they are as people, how they run their business and who helps them run their business. I’ve already mentioned Iliana Makri, Lizzie Mandler and Azlee, who are all amazing. We also love Emily P. Wheeler so much and are excited to be growing that collection here. During COUTURE 2022 we picked up a new collection, Tabayer, and we’re so excited to launch it.

COUTURE: Where’s the best spot in town to grab a quick lunch?

RN: You can go to Bis on Main for American (gotta get the truffle fries!), Carmines is great Italian, and Monsoon is amazing for Vietnamese food.

COUTURE: Where’s the best restaurant for entertaining clients or out of town guests.

RN: The neighboring restaurant, Cantinetta, is a fabulous Italian place that is not open for lunch. It’s where we run over if we’re out of wine for the store, or to bring in martinis and antipasti plates, it’s our go-to.

COUTURE: What’s your favorite bar?

RN: The bar at Cantinetta. That’s where we’ll go and have a glass of wine or a martini, where everybody knows your name.

COUTURE: What’s your favorite local cultural spot?

RN: I would say the Chihuly museum. Right before COUTURE, we told Iliana Makri to go visit and she was blown away. Also, the fish market, Pike Place Market, and then there’s the San Juan Islands; we encourage people to stay an extra 24 hours so they can make the ferry ride and see the beauty of the Pacific Northwest while enjoying oysters and seafood.

COUTURE: What’s special about your town?

RN: We’re in Old Bellevue so we are surrounded by independent owners of mom n’ pop stores. It’s a quaint little area and all of the different store owners and shops try to support one another. A lot of our customers are friends and we have grown together through babies and new life and end of life and first marriages and second marriages, all the trials and tribulations, joys and disappointments of life; that’s the beautiful thing about being on Main Street. And running into our customers at Carmines or local restaurants that are around here and seeing them in a different element outside of the store establishes a different kind of relationship. Our customers are our family. We really have that small town feeling in a big city, and I have an incredible team, most of us have been here together for 17 years, and we’re a tight family.

When selling intimate products like the art of fine jewelry, we want the feeling in the store to mirror family inviting family, and customers that have become family, into our intimate space. This is important to me and it always has been.