Bay Area jeweler forced to re-build her business after Hurricane Helene damage

Home business face unique challenges after storms

FOX 13 Photojournalist Barry Wong highlights Jackie Kaufman, who runs a handmade jewelry company from her home, on how the damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton has affected not only her home but also her place of business.

REDDINGTON SHORES, Fla. - Long-time jeweler Jackie Kaufman is searching for answers after damage from Hurricane Helene forced her to put a pause on her jewelry design company operations.

Her home flooded for the first time in 10 years during the hurricane.

"When it started coming through the windows, I was just resigned to the fact that I've lost everything, and when I mean everything, I mean all of my business," Kaufman said.

The business is Rock My World Inc., a jewelry design company that specializes in lost wax casting. Because she runs the small business in her home, Helene’s storm surge was, as she describes it, a "double whammy".

Rock My World Inc. is a jewelry design company that specializes in lost wax casting.

"I still had orders. I had so much work to do because I'm going into my busy season now. That was my main concern. What am I going to do with my customers? I'm going to disappoint them, and that's what really affected me," Kaufman said.

The water decimated the first floor of her two-story home, destroying her studio and damaging important equipment like a vacuum caster and kiln. Until those pieces are replaced, Kaufman can’t start working. These challenges are all in addition to trying to repair her home.

"I never did any of this stuff before. I'm running dehumidifiers, fans," Kaufman said. "I don't know. I'm just trying to do the steps that have to be done to get everything back."

Kaufman says each day gets better than the previous one. What has helped is the compassion of the community after she reached out for help. A fellow artist donated a work bench, while complete strangers have sent over jewelry-making tools.

"It's not even about the money. For me, it's about the tools or the equipment. I think artists, like if somebody is a painter, maybe they just want some paint. Maybe you have leftover paint or brushes, you would be surprised at things that have gotten ruined. Anything that you might be able to give to somebody that's in the same artistic realm that you're in," Kaufman said.

The help keeps Kaufman going. She wants everyone to know, customers and the community, that she will rebuild and re-start her business no matter what.

"If it's something that, my God, it's here. I don't have to go find it. I don't have to search for it. I work with those brushes. I'll work with those colors. With me, I'll work with that equipment. I have so many other things. I'm thinking about that just having that little gesture of bringing something means the world," Kaufman said.

Kaufman hopes to be back up and running in the next month or two.

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