Ashley Gold of "Hardcore Pawn" fame is branching out on her own.
The Bloomfield Township resident, who spent nine seasons on the popular reality TV show, is now hawking jewelry through her own website at www.pawnchickshopping.com, which she describes as online shopping destination for men and women.
And yes, she’s ready to make a deal.
“It’s true, I left the pawn shop,” Gold said in a phone interview Wednesday. “This is my thing now — I’m the pawn chick. I was born and raised in a pawn shop, I know how to buy jewelry and I know how to pair jewelry. Everyone has always seen the rough and tumble side of me, but now people will see a new side of me.”
She currently has an online collection of 300 pieces of jewelry from 12 different designers, with prices ranging from $20 to $3,000. Gold said the new venture will allow her to spend more time with her husband and their two young children.
“This gives me freedom to be with them and do what I love, which is still to be in the jewelry industry,” she said.
The "Hardcore Pawn" show ran five years and produced 150 episodes that focused on the Gold family and their pawn shop off 8 Mile Road in Detroit. At the moment, Ashley Gold said she doesn’t know if the show is being renewed for another season.
Contrary to what some viewers might think, Gold said the situations and customers on the show were real and not scripted.
“These were real people who were down-and-out on their luck in most cases,” she said. “We met a lot of interesting people and enjoyed a lot of adventures ... the shop itself became a tourist destination. But those situations were real.”
Gold, who grew up in the area, is a 1996 Andover High School graduate. She graduated from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business and also has her certification in diamonds from the Gemological Institute of America.
“There’s not a lot of women in the pawn shop industry, so I’m sure I always stood out in that sense,” she said. “But people always turn to me for style and fashion advice. I know what I’m doing — I can dress anyone in basically under two minutes.”
She handles her own social media and blogs about fashion on her own website at www.pawnchickradio.com. She still reaches out to her fans and is grateful for how the show opened doors for her, such as guest appearances on Good Morning America, where she talked about the art of buying and selling.
One of her favorite moments at the store was when Hollywood star Aaron Paul walked through the door. Paul played a meth dealer by the name of Jesse Pinkman on the hit series, Breaking Bad. More than anything, he was known for his colorful vernacular and trademark slogans.
“He came into the shop one day and said he wanted a gold bar that said ‘Yeah, B-tch!’ I’m able to accommodate a lot of people at the shop, but that one didn’t happen,” she said.
As for the dealing and wheeling that goes hand-in-hand with working at a pawn shop, Gold said she’s more than willing to bargain with her online customers.
“I run deals all the time,” she said. “People are afraid to ask for a deal, and you can’t ever be bashful about asking for a deal. I’m always open to a little negotiating.”
