Tom grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pa as the youngest of three children. He has an older sister, Pam, and an older brother, George. Together they had a happy childhood. Tom remembers playing kick ball, kick the can, sardines as well as building forts and ice skating to name a few. Tom graduated High School and earned his Eagle Scout in 1992.
For the first two years following his graduation he attended Bloomsburg University in the Poconos. He then transferred to Penn State University. His drive to succeed was evidenced by how hard he worked to earn his Bachelor of Arts Degree. He took extra classes and attended summer school and eventually earned his Bachelors degree in Economics in 1988.
He started his jewelry career in Burlington, VT taking a managerial position with Gordon's Jewelers for six years. He then moved to Bellevue, WA with his brother, George and worked for Merksamer Jewelry as a "fix-it" guy. He travelled from location to location where the company identified stores which weren't thriving. He would spend approximately six months at each location revitalizing that particular store. He would identify the problem and then take the necessary steps to correct whatever it was. He would train and teach the store managers customer service as well as business management; the employees customer service. All of this travel and experience gave him the knowledge, skill and drive to open his own business. His desire was so great he actually waited longer than his friends so his 401k would increase enough to use as his seed money! Wow!
Then in 1997 his dream became a reality by opening Borthwick Jewelry Inc,. in Ferndale, WA. After being in business for three years Tom took the Advanced Stone Setting course through New Approach School of Jewelers. Then in 2010 he took Laser Star Training course, again, through New Approach School of Jewelers. These two courses rounded out Toms knowledge and skills.
Tom has a daughter, Nicole, who is as adventurous as her dad. One of her favorite things to do with her dad is going to rock concerts or playing laser tag. She just loves to shoot her dad! In 2016 they took a father/daughter vacation to Paris, Venice and Rome. They visited many historic sites, ate lots of local cuisine and made many happy memories for years to come.
On 04-21-2007, Tom married the woman of his dreams, the love of his life, his kindred spirit, Tami Orranita-Pieper. She has two sons, Maximillian (Max) and Giovanni (Gio). Tom and Tami love to travel. They have been to so many wonderful and exotic places. They went to Scotland where they visited Borthwick Castle. Tom has many great stories about their travels so when you come in ask him about his latest adventure! You might even get treated with a few pictures and a great story or two!
The family had an exciting event happen in November 2021, their son Max got married to his long time girlfriend Jamie and they reside in Spokane, WA. Tom and Tami love to visit. When all of them get together they like to, depending on where the visit happens, they love to go camping, fishing, skiing and four wheeling. If Max and Jamie come "home" they love to go tubing down the Nooksack river. If you hear singing its probably just Tom tubing with the family and he's driving everyone nuts!
When Tom's not working or enjoying outdoor activities with his family he can be found playing hockey.
Read Tom's Full StoryThe friendly faces behind Ferndale's favorite jewelry store
Kristi is our store manager and has worked here for 10
years. She is
very knowledgeable about jewelry and many customers have told me they enjoy
working with
her. She has a nice cheerful attitude and is always in a happy mood with a
big
smile.
She is organized and, as the store manager, she assists the owner in the
hiring of new
employees; does the paperwork when the owner is on vacation and scheduling
of staff. She
is one of the employees who does written appraisals and her knowledge of our
product is
substantial.
In her off time she loves to quilt; shop for converse shoes and her favorite
holiday is
Halloween. You can find some of her excellent quilt work at The One Stop
Mail Shop.
She is the assistant manager and has worked here for 8
years.
Katrina is another one of our fantastic employees. She has a great way of
working with
our customers and is fun to work with. Her big heart and funny sense of
humor creates a
wonderful environment for our customers and our team. Katrina helps train
our new sales
associates as well as helps manage the sales floor and staff. She is very
organized;
assists with daily office tasks and ordering of products from our vendors.
She is very
knowledgeable about jewelry and does our written appraisals. She is very
pleasant,
sophisticated, and great at helping people find the perfect item. Its a
pleasure having
her work here. Thank you Katrina!
Her hobbies include baking, cooking family dinners, reading and traveling
with her
husband of 20 years.
Mo has worked here almost 4 years and uses her
organizational skills
to assist in the daily tasks of ordering products, checking in inventory and
calling
done repairs.
She has a wonderful "motherly" relationship with our customers. She has a
positive
attitude, an engaging smile and a wonderful sense of humor. She makes sure
our customers
have everything they need and they've told us how much they enjoy working
with her!
Mo is Italian and quite blunt but to know her is to love her! We just love
our Mo!
Nick is one of our bench jewelers who has 13 years
experience. He was
a store manager and main bench jeweler for 7 years in Sonoma County
California. He has a
Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art from Cal Poly Humboldt University in
Arcata,
California.
He has been employed with us for several years and he enjoys mountain biking
with his
wife on steep mountain trails. He also enjoys remote camping and backpacking
with his
wife. He's a great addition to our team! He works very hard until it's
pinball time!
He's our grand champion!
She is a new employee who brings years of experience working with the public to our store! She has worked as a dental hygienist in Bellingham, Wa for approximately 10 years so when she smiles, her pearly whites glow! Her sense of humor, humble attitude and attentiveness make her a great asset to the team. She has a tinker bell laugh and is very personable. We are so glad she chose to work here!
