To jewelers, marbles are a girl's best friend

"I haven't worn fine jewelry in six years," said Stotska, sporting interchangeable marble jewelry dangling off her ears, fingers and neck. "Marbles just seem a lot more fun. And I can sell them while I'm at the grocery store or the bank."

As a co-owner of Got All Your Marbles/Studio 220, 220 E. Congress St., a Downtown store specializing in a line of interchangeable marble jewelry, Stotska and husband/co-owner William Skiles, are turning those tiny glass orbs, normally used for play, into a fast-growing enterprise with increasing international orders.

Created by Stotska and Skiles six years ago, the sterling and bronze earrings, pendants, rings and key chains use marbles instead of precious gems.

The marbles are held in place using a "tension mechanism," a sort of clasp. Customers can change the look of the jewelry whenever they like, with a bag of marbles provided with each purchase.

The prices range from $19 to more than $160.

"The jewelry has taken off, and that's what's supporting everyone," Stotska said of the eight full-time employees, including two daughters, who work at the store.

This week Stotska and Skiles are moving into a new 1,400-square-foot industrial suite at 3601 E. 44th St., where the shipping and manufacturing center will be housed, instead of the Downtown store's back room and basement. The Downtown store will remain as a gallery but the rest of the operations will move.

Since finding out about the jewelry line a few years ago, Ginny Graves, 70, makes it a point to wear her marble ring along with her wedding band.

"It's so easy to pop the marbles in and out," she said. "My teenage grandchildren now want to have them."

Retailers around the world also are discovering the marble baubles.

The House of Marbles in Bovey Tracey, England, carries the jewelry, as does the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

Local businesses are also partial to the jewelry.

"Our best sellers are the necklaces," said Quinta Peterson, vice president and buyer for Cele Peterson's at 4811 E. Grant Road. The clothing store carries the entire line.

"It's an unusual gift and it's a fun piece. You can get a smile out of it," Peterson said.

As artists in the mid-1980s, Stotska and Skiles met through acquaintances at a Tucson dinner party.

Stotska was running an art studio where the Downtown store is housed.

With the advent of Downtown Saturday Night, a bimonthly event started by the Tucson Arts District Partnership in 1989, Skiles eventually moved into the art studio where he created his metal sculptures and jewelry.

They later married and turned the studio into the Studio 220 gallery. Just last year they added the name Got All Your Marbles.

Skiles can't believe how far the marble jewelry line has come.

"It's amazing to see what we've built based on that funny little concept," Skiles said.

Each sterling-silver-and-bronze piece is handcrafted by Skiles, a trained jewelry maker, and an apprentices, who sift through the more than 14,000 marbles the company orders each month for use in the jewelry.

Before running the Downtown store, Stotska and Skiles traveled to high-end art and jewelry shows around the country.

They sold various jewelry, sculptures and had some moderate success with a concept of interchangeable gold jewelry using beads and gem balls. The jewelry drew moderate interest.

"We needed something irresistible for under $100," Stotska said.

A friend later suggested using a marble instead. Not one to shy away from the unusual, Skiles tried the new design using the tension mechanism clasp on a pendant at a show in Beverly Hills.

"It took off. We looked at each other and thought, 'Huh, this could be good,'" Skiles said.

SEE on the job / D5

Names: Lisa Stotska and William Skiles

Ages: 50 and 55, respectively

Job: Co-owners, Got All Your Marbles/Studio 220

Friday On the Job focuses on the people who make Tucson businesses run — those who are in charge, keep a business running, are just starting out or hire workers.