Co-owner David Sottilare completes repair work and jewelry production on-site.[/caption] Trinity Fine Jewelry co-owner David Sottilare has worked in many industries throughout his career, but he said he never saw himself becoming a jewelry designer until he met his wife, Jessica. “Jessica was always the jewelry person from the beginning,” Sottilare said. “She, [her sister] Dana and [her mother] Donna were all in the jewelry industry before we opened.” In 2008, the couple left their jobs to focus on jewelry full-time and opened their first store in Magnolia under the name Creative Christians, which was renamed a few years later to Trinity Fine Jewelry. When the store proved to be successful, the couple began looking for a storefront on Main Street in Tomball, Sottilare said. “Tomball’s Main Street has a small-town feel that I like,” Sottilare said. “It’s becoming more like a market street, but it’s all unique. All of the business owners here have a vested interest.” Although the business offers a selection of jewelry, name-brand sunglasses and crosses, a large portion of customers request custom design work and repairs, Sottilare said. Using a computer design program, Sottilare said he can produce 3-D renderings based on drawings to recreate family heirlooms or craft unique pieces not available at larger jewelry retailers. “Jessica will incorporate your thoughts of what you want, and she’ll design it by drawing,” he said. “You’ll see it rendered on a computer before we actually make it to see what it looks like.” Although Trinity Fine Jewelery is also a wholesale diamond retailer, customers are encouraged to bring in their own gold and stones to use as raw material for new designs. “If you use your own things, the average cost is lower, and you’re building it the way you want it,” Sottilare said. “We have a slogan for this—‘Use your gold; don’t sell your gold.’” The shop’s theme of reusing older materials also extends to the building itself. The store was originally built in 1939 and was owned by the Coats family, Sottilare said. The family operated a jewelry store for 67 years before putting the building up for sale. Sottilare said he hopes to renovate parts of the store to recreate how it may have looked in the 1930s. In the coming months, he plans to replace the glass doors with wooden ones, redesign the sales floor and install industrial finishes and decor. When complete, customers will be able to sit in a newly designed waiting area—complete with hand-drawn maps of Tomball and a TV—while design work is being completed or repairs are being made. “Being able to establish a jewelry store while [continuing the legacy] of the Coats family, that’s a great feeling,” he said.