By Jack Drees
As you walk down Pleasant Street, a shop with its distinguished black and gold sign nestled between a pizzeria and a hair salon, may catch your eye.
Art Carl Jewelers & AC Loan has been a local fixture since the 1940s amid the ever-changing business landscape in downtown Malden.
Named after original owners Arthur Baker and Carl Silbert, the store has long retained its original title. At the same time, it has seen some changes over the years, including ownership.
Father and son, Michael and Boris (they do not use their last names), have run the jewelry and pawn shop, which has been a staple among Malden’s downtown businesses, for the last 25 years.
Boris, the store manager, likes to describe it as a store that sells “a little bit of everything,” including jewelry, electronics, collectibles, and musical instruments.
Michael bought Art Carl Jewelers by chance. “A jeweler by trade,” Michael was previously running a place in Boston that “did not succeed,” Boris shared.
Michael stumbled upon a dimly lit pawn shop while walking in downtown Malden, and negotiated to buy it in 2000. At the time, the shop was located at 126 Pleasant Street.
The shop has since been forced out of its spot and replaced with Eastern Bank, which later closed and is now two businesses – Soul City Yoga and Skybound Fitness.
The father-son duo moved down the street and absorbed the store Liberty Jewelers on 56 Pleasant St. whose owner was retiring. As the landscape changed, Boris said he and his father were lucky to remain on the same block, where they continued to see regulars in town as well as people from nearby communities.
“If we had to leave and go to another area, it is difficult to keep your customer base,” he told Neighborhood View.
Despite racking up years of family business experience, Boris admits it is not always easy working with his dad.
“He had his ways, I had my ways,” he says.
Temporarily, he left the store and moved to Delaware to pursue other opportunities. Eventually, with the call of duty towards his family, he returned to the store and works there to this day to help his father as Michael deals with health issues.
While Michael still handles jewelry, customers are more likely to find Boris behind the counter.
Art Carl Jewelers runs on a consistent schedule and is open on weekdays. However, like the store’s inventory, business can be unpredictable. There is no day of the week that tends to be busier than others. Some customers visit the store for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, while others walk in after something in the window suddenly catches their attention.
The shop has something for everyone. For those looking to entertain themselves or find a neat item to put on a shelf, the store offers board games, movies, and toys. The store also has various kinds of musical instruments such as guitars, violins, trumpets, flutes, and cymbals. Gamers will be happy to find pre-owned games and consoles.
While Art Carl is historically significant to Malden, the store does not have many items for sale connected to the city itself. However, customers can find many items with local connections such as Boston sports memorabilia. Some of the items are even autographed by professional athletes.
The store’s inventory caters to different kinds of budgets. Although the store has seen its fair share of hot ticket items Art Carl has also sold guitars for as much as $8,000 and antique pieces for what Boris says came out to “a couple thousand dollars.”
As for the most expensive item in the store, Boris says “big diamond engagement rings” will likely cost the prettiest of pennies.
“When it comes to jewelry, a $10,000 ring is going to cost more than just about anything,” he says.
Michael and Boris oversaw the store’s shift to the digital realm with the launch of an eBay page. Boris says the page has been up for 23 years.
Like the physical location, Boris says the eBay store is “a smorgasbord of anything and everything you can imagine.” The site sells many of the same items as the physical store such as toys, jewelry, and pottery.
As for the future, Boris plans to change very little but also hopes the store can continue to grow. He says his main goal going forward is to do the best he and his father can for themselves and the people they help. Boris also intends to handle tasks around the store that his dad does not do anymore.
“Hopefully everybody stays healthy, and continues to do the job that we do,” he says.
Correction Notes: The original version of this article stated that the former location of Art Carl Jewelers is a now closed Eastern Bank. The story was amended to state that the 126 Pleasant St. location is now a Soul City Yoga and a Skybound Fitness. Also, the original version of this article identified Boris as a co-owner. He is the manager and his father, Mike, is the owner.
Jack Drees is a contributing journalist for Neighborhood View since 2021. He also currently writes for 7 News (WHDH-Boston) and for his own movie blog, Flicknerd.com.
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