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However, the owner and namesake of the jewelry store , which opened in Shoppes at Bellemead earlier this month, has a special connection to the Shreveport-Bossier City area.

"I was stationed there after I got my wings in Lubbock, Texas," Avery said in a phone interview from his Kerrville, Texas, home. "I learned how to fly bombers in Del Rio and when I learned about B-26 bombers, they sent me to Barksdsale Air Force Base in April 1944. I really enjoyed the area and loved it.

"It was the music, the food. And the people were so gracious to everybody, including all the armed force guys and Air Force guys stationed over there," said 85-year-old Avery.

Avery went on to fight in World War II, surviving 44 missions over Germany. Then he attended the University of Illinois, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in industrial design.

He was teaching at the University of Colorado in 1950 when he made his first piece of jewelry "" a cross.

"I went through a really difficult time in my life and sought some help from an Episcopal minister, came back into the church actively and made a cross for myself," Avery said. "I'd taken some design courses at the university, so I knew a little bit about manufacturing jewelry."

He wore the cross on a string around his neck and others took notice.

"The guys going to the school out there saw the string and asked to see what I was wearing and asked me to make one for them. I did it and they wanted to pay, but I told them it was my gift to them. That's when I thought this was something I could do worthwhile for others," Avery said.

During that time he met and married his wife and eventually moved to Kerrville, setting up shop in his garage, and the rest is history.

"A lot of the girls' summer camps were held in this area and pretty soon they found out about me working in the garage and they were some of my first clients. Then they would return to Dallas and other areas talking about me, and I started getting phone calls and orders," he said.

Today, more than 50 years later, the business has expanded to 41 jewelry stores in five states. While he still makes jewelry with Christian symbolism, he also broadened his collection to other cultures and religions.

"I appreciate all kinds of jewelry, African, Mexican; I also make things for Judaism. About 25 percent is Christian and the rest is for casual wear, evening wear," he said. "We try to do things that are artful and meaningful.

Avery believes the key to his success is perseverance: "You have some certain things you stand for," and integrity.

"I like things to be the way they are and not to plate it with gold. If it's brass, make it brass," Avery said. "I'm the same way with designs. I want the designs to be simple, meaningful and I want things to do as well as they can. That means details. So, you pay attention to detail very, very carefully, especially when you're manufacturing your own jewelry. You don't put it out if it's so-so."

His two sons, Dr. Chris Avery and Paul Avery, run the business as president and executive vice president, respectively. However, Avery still plays an active role in the creative process.

"I'm still sitting here," he said. "In fact, I have an idea in my head right now that I'm chipping away on to see if it works."