DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
BY NANCY OLSON
Designers Rudy Leidenfrost & Brent Selke CELEBRATE TIME WELL SPENT AT REIS-NICHOLS
J ewelry designers Rudy Leidenfrost and Brent Selke are each commemorating 25 years of service at Indianapolis retailer Reis-Nichols Jewelers. This timely happenstance has led to a decades-long friendship that has enriched the workplace and the lives of the two artisans, who—in a twist of fate—started their jobs not only in the same year but on the same day! Reis-Nichols has helped define the Indianapolis skyline since 1919, when the Reis Company premiered downtown. The name was reimagined with its now well-known double surname in 1980, a few years after it was purchased by William Nichols, father of current CEO BJ Nichols. Today, under BJ’s direction, the family-owned company includes two locations in the greater Indianapolis area. The jeweler continues to grow with an ever-expanding collection of notable watches and exquisite custom-designed jewelry. “The company is very family-oriented and takes care of people like they are family,” says Rudy, the company’s lead diamond setter. He says he “fell into this business through a friend of a friend,” eventually landing at Reis-Nichols when he was about 30 years old after a successful stint with another Indianapolis jewelry company. Leidenfrost apprenticed in stone setting under the tutelage of a Nichols family member, and he knew early on that he’d found his vocation. He also found a steadfast colleague in Brent, with whom he “struck up a good friendship right out of the gate.” After graduating from Ball State College of Fine Arts with a focus on metals, Brent started apprenticing in Cincinnati. But when he had an opportunity to interview with BJ, he jumped at the chance to work at Reis-Nichols. Brent was thrilled to sign on with one of the fastest-growing jewelers currently hosting one of the country’s most expansive in-store jewelry manufacturing workshops. He, like Rudy, started as a bench jeweler, but Brent later specialized in CAD (Computer-Aided Design) as he discovered a particular interest in the burgeoning technology. Well known as an authorized retailer for a variety of internationally recognized luxury jewelry and watch brands, with
14 REIS-NICHOLS JEWELERS MAGAZINE
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