Jewelry Business Guru by Cindy Edelstein

Vote for Town & Country Couture Design Awards - The Most Prestigious Jewelry Design Competition

This year, the Town&Country Couture Design Awards is tapping the power of the Internet to get the entire universe of jewelry lovers involved.

ANYone may vote at the www.Couturedesignawards.com website.

Couture is the preiminent fine jewelry trade show that showcases only the best brands and designers in an exclusive environment. With online voting thousands more people can now experience the beauty of Couture.

The internet voting determines the finalists in each of the twelve categories. Designers seen at Couture include David Yurman, Judith Ripka, Scott Kay, John Hardy, Gurhan, Erica Courtney, Coomi, Elizabeth Rand, Robert Lee Morris and 200 more stars of the fine jewelry world. 

The top finalists in each category will have their jewels displayed at Couture 2008. Couture attendees will vote from among the finalists on site to determine final winners for each category.

Look for the winners in the October issue of Town&Country.

See You In NYC at MJSA Expo next Monday, April 14th

Join me for some great brainstorming and networking at the MJSA Expo in NYC next Monday, April 14th... we're sure to come up with something that can make a difference for you in your business right now.

I'll be on two panels during their education sessions:

MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2008 

9:30 – 11 A.M.

M1:  75 Business Tips in 75 Minutes Panel
Cindy Edelstein, Jeweler’s Resource Bureau; Chris Ploof, Chris Ploof Designs; Mark Shipman, Rio Grande; and Andrea Hill, Hill Management. Moderator: Rich Youmans, MJSA.
Business knowledge can be less than riveting, but when it’s delivered in 60-second sound bites, you’ll find yourself truly engrossed! Business experts will give you power-packed, solid business advice you can apply and benefit from right away. This panel is sponsored by Clasp.

2 – 3:30 P.M.       

M5: Design Track: Profiting By Design Panel

Marlene Richey, author, designer, and business expert; Cindy Edelstein, Jeweler’s Resource Bureau; Chris Ploof, Chris Ploof Designs; and a representative from Jeweler's Mutual Insurance Co.
Learn how design can promote your bottom line from industry experts who will discuss web building, promotion, legal issues, and more.

There's time in the middle of those two sessions for a coffee or two -- email me if you want to have a free 5-minute personal brainstorm session. Members of our  jewelersresource.com  JRB Network get the first shot at these  opps but everyone's welcome! I'll be happy to book as many brainstorms as possible!

See you next week at the Javits Convention Center in NYC. Learn more about Expo at the mjsa.org website.

[TIP: Getting out and meeting peers and industry leaders at trade shows and seminars are invaluable opportunities to meet helpful folks, learn something new and gain valuable insights. You've got to get out as often as you can because your business needs you to make connections. MJSA Expo is a trade show of suppliers for you to shop as well as a chance to network and learn during the seminars. GO!]

Ethical Jewelry Summit

It has been just about a year (maybe 2) that we've heard mention of ethical jewelry MAKING practices and fair trade issues. We've always worried about ethical deals (think retailers switching stones, manufacturers underkarating, etc.) but ethical creation? A new concept that has just started to take hold as witnessed by the first-ever Ethical Jewelry Summit last month in Washington, DC.

This event brought together a broad spectrum of industry leaders and Represented at the conference was World Bank, Ethical Metalmiths, JA, Cartier, ARM, Tiffany, DeBeers, CJRP, GIA, Rapaport, as well as major suppliers, such as The Bell Group and Hoover and Strong. Some of the retailers and manufacturers included: Leber Jewelers, Brilliant Earth, Toby Pomeroy, Lori Bonn, Cred Jewelers, Vukani-Ubuntu, and Columbia Gem House. Fair Labeling Organization, FLO international, represented by Transfair USA, was also in attendance. 

I personally know three leaders in this movement --- Martin Rappaport, Marc Choyt and Lori Bonn -- and their progress has been remarkable.

I advise anyone interested in this topic to visit:

Marc's blog http://www.fairjewelry.org  

Martin's site at www.diamonds.net/FairTrade/ 

Lori Bonn's site ClearConscienceJewelry.org

Ethical mining practices, fair trade with the people who work the gems and metals from the ground and environmentally responsible manufacturing are all growing practices and marketing trends. [TIP: From an ethical standpoint I urge you to learn more -- from a marketing standpoint I cannot help but recommend you consider some levels of support, as well. It's a very good PR thing to do!]