Joseph Lugosch, owner of Peadpod Jewelry, sits at the personalization station inside the stores second location at 202 Main St. in Damariscotta. The store is set to open Friday, May 1. (Photo courtesy Joseph Lugosch)
After over a decade in business, Peapod Jewelry is set to open a second location in Damariscotta on Friday, May 1.
The jewelry store, at 40 Route 1 in Edgecomb, announced its second gallery location will be opening at 202 Main St. in Damariscotta. Owner Joseph Lugosch said the biggest push for a second location was to bring in more foot traffic, which often is limited by Route 1.
“People will say, ‘I’ve driven past here for years, and I never noticed that this was here,’ despite there being plenty of signage,” Lugosch said, “And then in the summer, it’s like, ‘Oh, we don’t go there because of the traffic,’ or ‘We didn’t want to get out of the traffic because it was so bad.’”
Peapod Jewelry is known for its peapod inspired jewelry and coastal designs. Lugosch said since there are not any traditional jewelry stores on Main Street, the gallery will also carry other pieces, such as diamond earrings.
At the new location, customers will be greeted by a sign painted by Lugosch’s wife, Katie Riley. The frame of the sign is going to be in the shape of a peapod, Lugosch said.
“I want people to realize that you can come and get the Peapod Collection or if you want something that is a little more simple or traditional, we have that too,” Lugosch said.
In Edgecomb, Lugosch said he will open up half of the store to add in workbenches that had been removed over the years to create a space to host classes. Lugosch said there will be opportunities for people to come in and learn how to make jewelry, even if they do not have previous experience. The classes will include the more intense work such as soldering, as well as putting the peapods together.
Lugosch is looking for wholesale representatives to expand the company’s reach beyond its Maine storefronts. Because the internet is so crowded, Lugosch said, he wants the brand to be more accessible.
“Most people are not searching for personalized peapod-shaped jewelry with colored stones,” Lugosch said. “They’re searching for custom mom jewelry, and it’s like there’s a million companies doing that.”
Peapod Jewelry started with Lugosch’s mother, Ronna Lugosch. After earning her MFA at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia in 1982, she and her husband bought a house in Round Pond where she started her jewelry line.
As a child, when he wasn’t spending time with friends or roaming around outside, Joe Lugosch was helping his mom in her workshop behind their house.
“Some point in my childhood, I just started tinkering,” Lugosch said. “It’s impossible to escape it.”
In 2001, Ronna Lugosch decided she was done with wholesale and opened a retail store next to their house in Round Pond, which Joe Lugosch said was when Peapod Jewelry was truly born. Before that, she had sold some peapod designs, but it wasn’t the centerpiece of the business. It was when a friend mentioned that the addition of pearls in the pods would really tie things together.
The whole idea behind peapods is the aspect of personalization, Joe Lugosch said. Customers can choose from different pearls and gemstones that can correlate with family’s birth months and more. Customization happens in store, which allows shoppers to make an experience out of their purchase, Lugosch said.
“We have really loyal, consistent, repeat customers who, you know, they come in because they love that the gift is really personal,” Lugosch said.
When he is not making jewelry, Lugosch can be found acting in productions across the county. While in college for acting, Peapod Jewelry opened its Edgecomb location in 2011.
Lugosch took over the business from his mother in 2019. After a small stint operating a location at the Maine Mall in South Portland, Lugosch said he decided to start searching for a second location.
With the new location opening, the Edgecomb location will be open Wednesday through Saturday. The Damariscotta location is expected to be open Tuesday through Saturday.
“This was my town growing up, so it’s really nice to be home,” Lugosch said.
For more information, go to peapodjewelry.com or find the store on Instagram at @peapod_jewelry.
