Jewelry Business Guru by Cindy Edelstein

Green Jewelry

Usually when I'm asked about "Green Jewelry" it's a trend report featuring peridot and tsavorite. But now the term has a whole new meaning. Recycled. Ecologically sound. Even "Clean."

Two weeks ago I read about a boutique in NYC that is changing it's focus from discounted designer wear to full-priced Eco-friendly wear (Accessories and jewelry included) and now comes news from NYC design mecca ABC Carpet & Home. For those of you who haven't been there -- it's way more than carpet! What once was just that has morphed in the past two decades into being a total lifestyle store for the cool, trendy and fabulous. They have had a few jewelry counters on the first floor for years.

And now WWD reports today:

ABC Carpet & Home's latest initiative is clean jewelry.

Last week, the firm launched the Grounded Jewel Collection, a new section in its Manhattan flagship dedicated to fine jewelry made from sustainable materials such as recycled gold and diamonds from mining firms that assist the people of mining countries.

Sustainable goods aren't new for Paulette Cole, chief executive officer and creative director of ABC Home. Twenty-five percent of the firm's products, including furniture and housewares, are now sustainable.

Being green has become a hot-button issue, and jewelry — particularly, how it is obtained — is also touching a nerve. The release of the film "Blood Diamond" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, coupled with recent initiatives to aid citizens of diamond-mining countries by well-known figures such as Russell Simmons, has raised public awareness about how gold and diamonds are mined.

Even though the Kimberley Process — a certification plan intended to ensure that diamonds aren't mined and traded to finance illegal activities and violent conflicts — is intact, some jewelry retailers have said that consumers were inquiring about the provenance of gemstones and gold.

"Customers are much more curious about the origin of a product and how it is made," said Cole. "They want to own things that support a community and support sustainability of our planet. There is awareness around recycled materials and knowing that diamonds come from a responsible source that supports a better than fair income and the community.

Sarah Perlis, the 28-year-old owner of an eponymous New York jewelry firm, is the first to offer her wares at the Grounded Jewel Collection at ABC. The store, at 888 Broadway, has sold Perlis' collection for the last three years and she worked closely with Cole on sourcing recycled gold and Sierra Leone-mined diamonds from mining company Pride Diamonds, which focuses on improving mining communities by paying higher daily wages to miners and various methods of community outreach.

Perlis, who plans for all of her jewelry to be completely green by this fall, is offering her nature-inspired 20-karat gold bangles, necklaces and earrings for $100 to $1,800.

"Paulette gets really involved in things," said Perlis, who added that because of high gold prices, using recycled gold was a cost saver, as well. "[ABC] is so proactive with this. They're a pretty impressive little company."

ABC plans to grow the in-store department to include young, local design-forward artisan jewelers.

Quote of the Day

"Left brain is logic, right brain is creativity. We don't want our kids to compete internationally with half of their brain tied behind their backs."

-- Texas State Representative Rob Eissler, on the importance of arts education (via The San Antonio Express) props to   www.danpink.com

Database Pet Peeve

This is the time of year when most designers are getting ready for the best sales opps for the whole year.

So it's no surprise that we're busy creating custom mailing lists for them. Our database has 3000 designer-centric retailers (pretty much the entire universe). We keep track of all sorts of data on them -- when we mailed them something, what they're JBT # is, web address, buyer, etc. It's amazing to me how few designers do the same!

If you don't have a good database program -- please put it on your To Get list.

It's one thing to have your customers in your accounting program (you can track their orders, their purchasing history and print labels) but it's another to track prospects. And prospects are invaluable.

And spending hours (or losing hours, actually) to hand address or wrestle with the wrong program (Word or Xcel are not the best for labels even if you know how!) is just silly.

My favorite database program (and the one I use to track 7000 retailers, 5035 designers and 1250 other business contacts) is FILEMAKER. It's relatively easy to learn, it does so much more than contacts (inventory and sales tracking and web publishing are the others) and it will make sure you're tracking your prospects to grow your business.

JA's New Designer 30th Anniversary

The 30th Anniversary of the New Designer Gallery is going to be a great celebration -- and one everyone can share.

We're planning a lot of ways to celebrate. First, of course is to debut this year's New Designer Gallery and anoint one "New Designer of the Year." Over the years this award has been shared by: Whitney Boin, Diana Vincent, Steven Kretchmer, Eddie Sakamoto, Tom Kruskal, Penny Preville, Alex Sepkus, Susan Sadler and so many more.

This year we're adding a Designer Showcase Lounge to the show floor. This is the place for hanging out and reminiscing. We'll display memorabilia from 30 years of stars and maybe have a Designer Jewelry silent auction (to raise money for a Mort Abelson scholarship). Anyone can donate to the auction -- gives you a great promotional opportunity plus a tax right-off!

We're going to have an Alumni Dinner on Monday, July 30th in Manhattan. Restaurant to be announced shortly (it'll be a prixe-fix dinner) and all are welcome. This is going to be a great designer-centric glorifying/reminiscing schmoozefest.

And lastly, we're creating a special supplement to National Jeweler magazine ... ALL ABOUT DESIGNERS!

This 32-page mini-magazine is going to feature the history of the New Designer Gallery, it's most memorable alumni and more. It's definitely going to be the kind of publication that people will save for years to come.

And... we have limited space for advertising in this keepsake. Savvy designers are going to want to save some of your marketing dollars for this one-in-a-lifetime publication. It comes out July 1st and is bundled with National Jeweler (which reaches all jewelry stores) plus a bonus mailing to my top 500 designer-centric retailers and is given away at July/August trade shows.

Email me at [email protected] to get more info an the yearbook, the dinner and the whole shebang! It's going to be a MAJOR CELEBRATION for all.

30 Years of New Talent

The other reason I'm glad to join the Nielsen Jewelry Group is that this is the 30th Anniversary of the famed New Designer Room/Gallery at the JA Shows.

The reason I could make a business focused on the designer sector of the industry is because Mort Abelson, show director for the JA Shows in the 70's  (when the show was the only game in town and owned by the Jeweler's of America trade association) decided to spice up the trade show and invite "some young designers"  to exhibit with the industry big-guns.

Mort was a true trailblazer. He schlepped to the cow pastures of Rhinebeck to peruse the craft show that had recently started (the forerunner of the ACC Show). He trekked through countless "booths" (if that's what the tents could be called) to see if any of these "artisans" had something worthwhile to show.

And what he found was amazing. He met the 20-something David Yurman with long hair and flip-flops with his first-ever collection (beads, not cable!). He met Michael Good with his starter colection of undulating metal waves. He met so many of today's "masters" when they were young bucks bucking the system of anonymous, pendantic jewelry.

And he brought them to New York, gave them a "booth" and shined a spotlight on their budding talents. He invited the industry -- the suit-and-tie guys (or rather leisure-suit and sideburns, guys since it was the 70s afterall) -- to take a peek, try something new, dare to be different.

And he started an industry. 1977 was the birth of the American Designer Jewelry Movement and we're going to celebrate it's 30th anniversary at this summer's JA New York Show.

Couture

So this is a very exciting time for me to start working with the Nielsen Jewelry Group -- producers of Couture  and JA New York shows.

It's the first year that Couture is open to all valid buyers so it's the first time that many will be able to experience the "Couture difference."   Couture is a unique trade show in that it's not intended to serve all -- it's a targeted event that serves just the high-end/branded/designer-oriented sector of the fine jewelry business.

It offers an edited collection of several hundred vendors which represents a managable, cohesive buying experience.

Since Las Vegas is an ever growing orgy of stimuli -- both in terms of business and pleasure -- I think an oasis like this much needed.

I think it's the perfect time for this kind of change in our world.

As business guru Dan Pink is fond of saying ... "Bigger isn't better. Better is better."

Fred Leighton Joins Bergdorf Goodman

WWD reported on Thursday, April 05, 2007:

BERGDORF BLING: Vintage jewelry house Fred Leighton is making its debut at Bergdorf Goodman on May 1, marking the first time the precious baubles will be available at a retail location outside Leighton's own New York and Las Vegas stores. "It is a culmination of years of talking with each other on and off, first under previous ownership and then again about a year ago," said Fred Leighten owner Ralph Esmerian, who acquired the 36-year-old company last April. Esmerian said the brand would start on the first floor among the other fine jewelry pieces, but would have room to expand. "I want to start at a ground level and test ourselves. Fred Leighton has never officially been in a huge luxury environment outside of our own stores. This is a first....We'll be tailoring the look of our jewelry to a Bergdorf kind of clientele."