Warm and personable, Ellen is clearly living her dream life. Prior to opening Max’s, she worked in the corporate world and whenever she was asked what her dream job was, she always said she wanted to own her own shop one day. In opening Max’s, which is named after her grandfather (a jewelry industry veteran of over 50 years), she’s combined her love for style and quality, her passion for really fabulous and unique jewelry, and her love of chocolate into a business that brings joy into the lives of many.

COUTURE: What’s notable about your store?

Ellen Hertz: I’d like to believe that first and foremost, our unique point-of-view is illustrated in the product we carry. I don’t know how to differentiate between one tennis bracelet and another in a traditional jewelry store, so why should a customer be able to? One of the things I set out to do when I drew up the concept for the store that I’m really proud of, is that people will often come in and say, “I haven’t seen this stuff anywhere!” And we always think, “Right on, that’s the goal, that was the plan!”

The mix of chocolate and jewelry is a fun combination, both are luxury items. I always tell my staff that there’s nothing in this store that anyone needs so we need to be choosey about what we put in the store, and we need to know our stuff. From a $10,000 bracelet to a $15 chocolate bar, you’ve got to know what you’re selling, you can’t just be a clerk. I just think our overall vibe is that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are deadly serious about the designers we represent and what we sell. From the get-go, it was never a huge issue to me if my staff wore jeans and a nice top; it’s about the jewelry and jewelry is an expression of who we are and our personality, shouldn’t we also be able to express ourselves with our clothing? Hopefully we look like and talk like our customers. Also, I do not pay on commission which I believe creates a happy atmosphere for the staff as well as a pleasant atmosphere for our customers; I have a belief that commission only breeds bad behavior.

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

EH: For the past several years, we simply cannot have enough of Erica Molinari’s jewelry in the store! I love Erica, I love the jewelry, it’s really well made and a lot of its appeal has to do with this need that exists in the world right now for people to express themselves, thus the personalization; we sell a lot of her work.

We do great with Adel Chefridi, we carry both his silver and gold collections. The silver is extremely approachable for a really pretty, fine look, and the gold and the bridal is just very fine work that’s different and has a really strong presence.

We do a really nice Alex Sepkus business, as well as really nice Paul Morelli business. We’re picking up our game with Single Stone.

Anne Sportun has been a part of Max’s since the day we opened, she is very important to us.

We have a lot of really great, long term clients; some are repeat buyers of the same designers and some like to spread the love around to a handful of our designers. Some of our clients come to every single trunk show, and others wait for Erica every year and are horribly disappointed if they can’t make it. Part of what we prioritize goes back to staff training so that we can effectively convey the artist’s story to our customers. So, with Alex Sepkus, as an example, his team customizes his tools, which is part of the story behind his work, and if there’s an opportunity to engage with our clients and share these stories then that’s what we try to do. It’s all about telling the story of the designer and creating a connection with the customer.

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

EH: I’m gonna say Mill Valley Kitchen.

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

EH: All of my favorite go-tos closed during the pandemic which was so sad. But the other night, we ate outside at Heather’s on 48^th and Chicago and it was great, the best place I’ve eaten in a long time.

COUTURE: What’s your favorite bar?

EH: Ask me again in 2 years.

COUTURE: What’s your favorite local cultural spot?

EH: The Walker Art Museum and Sculpture Garden. It’s not only a great collection of contemporary art, but the garden outside and the juxtaposition of beautiful sculpture in an urban setting with the backdrop of downtown is really special. Minneapolis has been through a lot. It’s been really hard, and we’re sort of just getting back to it and getting back to feeling like we can exhale a bit after what happened here. I think re-building the city and getting back into doing things in the city is an important thing.

COUTURE: What’s special about your town?

I’m going to preface this by telling you that I’m not a native Minnesotan. I moved here 40 years ago from Michigan, and after lots and lots of years, I’m finally calling this my hometown. I’ve always lived either in Minneapolis proper or St. Louis Park, both the store and where I live, which I consider Minneapolis. I really enjoy the ability to work and live in a major metropolitan area. The fact that there are lakes right in the city where you can go for a walk or a run in the morning or after work and still be in the city is great. It’s a very accessible city to enjoy; anywhere you want to go, sporting events, the theater, shopping, in either Minneapolis or St. Paul, is 20 minutes away. I also like the fact that we have the moniker of a liberal, progressive city.