The 317 Project tells stories of life in all of Indianapolis’ vibrant neighborhoods – 317 words at a time.
Before selling fine diamonds under the sparkle of a chandelier, Joann Carter endured life’s bumps.
She grew up in the “projects” of Cincinnati, Ohio. Survived a teenage pregnancy. Relied on welfare. Lived in low-income housing.
“I came from nothing,” Carter, 63, said.
After graduating college in 1989, she moved to Indianapolis, got married and in two years had two more children.
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In 1994 Carter determined that “it was time to make some money.” Her husband worked, but it wasn’t enough.
She bounced between beauty salons and barbershops selling products until one day she met the woman that changed her life forever: an antique and jewelry store owner with more mink coats than she could sell.
Hitting the road, Carter eventually sold every coat in the store.
“She looked at me,” Carter said, “and said, ‘well, I guess it’s time to start selling jewelry.’”
Carter loaded $10,000 worth of diamonds and gold into the trunk of her car and continued the hustle – selling every one of those too – earning the nickname the Jewelry Lady, which hangs above her store today.
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In 2007, she opened her own shop, where her youngest daughter, Ashley Perryman, apprenticed during high school.
Playing with “every single tray of jewelry” in her mother’s safe, since childhood Perryman knew she’d work in jewelry.
Perryman joined her mom full-time in 2013 after college – but not without unfiltered mother-daughter friction.
Perryman’s new ideas clashed with Carter’s old-school outlook.
“We argued and fought,” she said, until Perryman quit and left, taking “whatever job I could get.”
Perryman wasn’t too proud to ask to come back months later, provided a few concessions, like switching from paper-and-pen bookkeeping to an electronic system, and, upgrading the aesthetic within their current location at 4507 East 82nd Street.
Love and loyalty prevailed.
“I thank God every day,” Carter said, “that I have her with me by my side.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Brandon Drenon at 317-517-3340 or BDrenon@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BrandonDrenon.
Brandon is also a Report for America corps member with the GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world.
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