Silverscape Designs going out of business

NORTHAMPTON — Silverscape Designs, which has occupied the iconic 1928 Art Deco building at 1 King St. since 1993, announced Monday that it will be going out of business.

In May 2019, Silverscape Designs put the 8,000-square-foot building up for sale for $2 million. Silverscape Designs owner Wally Perlman told the Gazette at the time that his family intended to keep the business going.

But the 77-year-old owner has now decided to close the high-quality jewelry business with his retirement. Perlman took over the business after the passing of his late brother Dennis Perlman, a jeweler and the company’s founder, who died in a single-engine plane crash in 2000.

A going-out-of-business sale at the store begins Nov. 24. All items, including high-quality and handmade jewelry, gemstones, vases, lamps, globes and other gifts, are part of the sale.

Jane Merrill, the store’s manager of eight years, said the store will likely remain open as long as it has inventory. The business is planning a “closing for good” sale.

“We are going to assess it weekly to see where we are on our inventory and of course with COVID,” she said. “The owners really want to retire and we have not been able to find a buyer as of yet.”

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic didn’t factor into the decision to close the shop, Merrill said.

“The pandemic did not really play into the decision,” she said. “In fact, we have been doing fine. We slowly ramped the business back up … When everything was shut down, it was shut down. To start a business back up the size of our business, it takes many months to get it rolling again, but we did it and financially we’ve been fine.”

Dennis Perlman converted the former First National Bank of Northampton into a retail space, while retaining the building’s original features, including stained glass windows, woodwork, teller windows, decorative moldings, and the bank’s vault, according to a press release from Silverscape Designs. The interior features of the building also include original chandeliers, custom-built lamps and a stained-glass skylight that depicts the 12 zodiac signs.

Merrill said she’s hoping another jewelry business would continue the legacy established by Silverscape Designs at the location.

“I think we have been there for so long on that corner,” she added. “Personally, I am really hoping another jewelry store comes in and buys the business and the building and starts up something again. [Northampton] really needs a high-end jewelry store … I’m keeping my fingers crossed something happens.”

Staff writer Greta Jochem contributed to this article.