Tomorrow’s Heirlooms teams with fitness clubs to help support breast cancer research
By Anthony Stoeckert, Staff Writer
Tomorrow’s Heirlooms has a lot to celebrate, and the Princeton jewelry store has decided to celebrate by giving.
The store’s owners have donated three pieces of jewelry, priced at a total of $3,000, to three area health and fitness clubs as a fundraiser. Anyone can go to the gyms and donate $5 for a chance to win one of the necklaces, with all money raised going to breast cancer research. Donations are being accepted through New Year’s Eve.
John Miller, co-owner of Tomorrow’s Heirlooms, says he and his wife, Peggy Milstein, are raising the money to celebrate their 30 years in business, and Ms. Milstein’s 19 years as a breast cancer survivor.
The pieces of jewelry are on display at three area health clubs: The Princeton and Plainsboro locations of Princeton Fitness & Wellness, and Robert Wood Johnson Fitness and Wellness Center in Hamilton. The center that raises the most money will win a trophy.
”We’re going to have a competition to see who can raise the most money,” Mr. Miller says. “Neither me, nor the health clubs get any money out of it.”
Mr. Miller and Ms. Milstein also are offering customers a chance to contribute to breast cancer research by donating 20 percent of purchases to the cause. Or, in order to help people save money during these economic times, customers can choose to take a 20 percent discount off their purchases.
The three pieces being auctioned off are two necklaces: one made of amethyst and sterling silver, and one of amethyst, stalactite amethyst, green amethyst, smoky topaz and tourmaline set in sterling silver. The third piece is a bracelet of rose quartz, citrine amethyst blue topaz, mystic topaz and green gold agate.
Mr. Miller and Ms. Milstein opened the store in 1983, after they left their corporate jobs. Mr. Miller worked as a vice president of personnel and administration, and Ms. Milstein was an editor and librarian.
”We took an early retirement and decided to play with rocks for the rest of our lives,” Mr. Miller says.
Tomorrow’s Heirlooms sells jewelry, mostly unique pieces, designed and created by Mr. Miller from raw stones, including necklaces, bracelets, pendants, earrings, rings, belt buckles and more.
The store also sells stones, small ones that people carry with them, and larger, decorative stones.
Mr. Miller says the store sells “decorative art” in a wide price range, from jewelry that costs $20 to items that cost thousands of dollars.
Mr. Miller says the store also is something of a museum, as it’s home to rock specimens, fossils, and even a dinosaur foot. The store arranges for school groups to come in to look around, learn about rocks and create jewelry. And visitors are welcome to touch, pick up and try on the goods. And kids who visit the store get a free stone.
Mr. Miller not only promises one-of-a-kind jewelry, he says he also offers customer service. He talks to customers about the people they are purchasing gifts for to make the pieces more personal. For example, when one patron was looking for something for his daughter who worked as a park ranger, Mr. Miller steered him away from a flashy piece to something more earthy.
Mr. Miller says his customers include well -known actresses, and one prominent television journalist. One customer who stands out is a woman who wanted a necklace with a pendant where she could keep the ashes of her beloved dog.
”We’re a different kind of jewelry store,” Mr. Miller says.