James Avery has crafted himself quite a successful enterprise. James Avery Craftsman is a top jewelry designer, manufacturer, and retailer in the US, mostly throughout the southern states. Its jewelry collection, numbering some 1,100 designs and 14,000 items made in sterling silver, 14-, and 18-karat yellow and white gold, and gemstones, is sold through about 200 independent retailers and more than 60 of its own stores mostly in Texas, but also in Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Alabama. James Avery also sells its products through a catalog and via the Internet. The company got its start in 1954 when James Avery set up shop in a two-car garage with about $250 in capital.