Jewelry Business Guru by Cindy Edelstein

A Million Little Pictures: 1,000 artists documenting 1,000 lives from around the world

Would be cool for a lot of them to be jewelry designers! Art House is looking for 1,000 people from around the world to receive 1000 disposable cameras. They'll mail the camera to you to document your life in 24 exposures and then you simply send us back the prints. Not only will we have the exhibition here in Atlanta, they will also travel to the city with the most participants.  The exhibition will be home to 24,000 photographs of 1,000 peoples lives all over the world. Sign up Deadline: July 1st 2009

For more information on the project and to sign up, go to:     http://www.amillionlittlepictures.com

Greenwich Jewelers is Having a Designer Jewelry Auction Online for NYC Sparkle Week

What a great way to gain some attention and help out a good cause -- or three of them as the case is with NYC jeweler Greenwich Jewelers. And they're auctioning jewels from some of our favorite designers: Melissa Joy Manning, Dana David, Jamie Joseph, Suzanne Kalan and Toby Pomeroy.

Bidding ends April 25th -- that's this Saturday so hurry!

They are having a silent auction instore and bids are welcome via email, too, to raise money for:
Dress For Success ( www.dressforsuccess.org )
Hope for Kai( www.hopeforkai.com )
Planned Parenthood ( www.plannedparenthood.org )

This event is in honor of "Sparkle Week" -- a week-long publicity campaign in NYC created by the National Jewelry Institute. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued the official proclamation on April 6 as a way to promote jewelry sales in time for Mother's Day and other spring gifting events. It's akin to Restaurant Week and Spa Week where businesses offer special promotions to entice customers and raise awareness.

TIP: It's a great idea for any industry, group or likeminded folks to band together for a bigger promotion than any one can create on their own. An auction here, a sale there, an exhibit over there and boom! you've got yourself a big join promotion. Can you do this in your area?

My Customer Profiles in INDESIGN Magazine on Display

So exciting to see my INDESIGN magazine column lifesized
at the recent InStore show. Thanks Larry for snapping it!

Jeweler Ray Griffiths Makes Wishes Come True on Real Housewives of New York City

NYC Jewelry designer Ray Griffiths got a great bit of publicity last week thanks to a longtime client -- Alex McCord, one of the stars of the Real Housewives of New York City. She's been a longtime fan -- each year her romantic husband gets her a jewel from Ray. This year, since they're on this reality series, they did so on camera.

Much to Ray's pleasure -- and good luck -- the private birthday surprise was on last week's episode. In one week's time Ray's website traffic increased 1200% and his phone is ringing. Retailers love to promote his success to their clientele and thanks to viral marketing everyone can share the 2.5 minutes of jewelry fun. Click on the photo to see it.

TIP: Never underestimate the power of good PR. AND make sure you keep it going by emailing, blogging, facebooking, twittering and otherwise spreading the news of your great PR coups.

Fred Segal Store Set for Reality Series -- Will We See Celebrity Jewels?

Famed LA chic-a-rama Fred Segal is going real -- Bravo TV is producing a reality series according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"The show in development will document the daily drama at Santa Monica clothing retailer Fred Segal.

The untitled docu-series will focus on the oft-stressed and competitive sales team as they cater to well-to-do customers who demand the latest in clothes, shoes, accessories and beauty products.

"Fred Segal is a legendary retail haven synonymous with high fashion and style, and the fashionistas who work, shop and gossip at the store promise to have arresting, entertaining, colorful personalities and lives," said Frances Berwick, executive vice president and general manager at Bravo."

May issue of Elle Shows A lot of Jewels -- whew! How Refreshing

Seriously, I was going into withdrawal. I know all this frugality is good for us -- I'm reusing, repurposing, recycling. But a gal's gotta get some eye candy some time!

The new issue of Elle arrived yesterday and there was jewelry to be seen throughout. Oh how I missed my frivolity and jewelicious pages.

There was jewelry featured in at least three sections of the Fashion News department. And jewelry in the fashion spreads. And a goodly amount of jewelry ads.

An interesting trend was highlighted -- agate geode  slices. In multiples for the neck and wrist. Big, heavy and often dyed crystally slices. Not normally on my IN list but in these dark times, even they lightened my mood.

Do you find the trend a bit funky? Or fabulous?

I think I've gone to two too many Tucson gem shows to really appreciate this as a high-fashion look. But they're inexpensive and eyecatching and well, frankly, quite fun. 

So, I vote for the slices. In any color.

Cause Marketing For Jewelers -- Luxury with Meaning

Here's another example we found this week of promoting luxury with meaning (and on a budget) -- that's the ticket for the new consumer.

"On it's 125th anniversary Bulgari is supporting Save The Children's global campaign 'Rewrite the Future.'

This silver anniversary jewel: $290

Bulgari will donate $60 from every sale to Save the Children."

Really? Bulgari at under $300 AND a donation? It's a brave new world alright.

Can You Design the Next "Green Bracelet" for Diamond Empowerment Fund?

The Women's Jewelry Association has launched it's 2009 DIVA Design Competition and this year it's all about the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.).

The design contest has 3 categories -- and is open to ANY woman who wants to design something regardless of her previous jewelry experience -- and each has something that can be donated to D.E.F. at one of their charity auctions.

Category #1 is sponsored by Rio Tinto and gives you the opportunity to design a jewel that features a Canadian (conflict-free) diamond of at least half-a-carat.

Category #2 is a red carpet jewel of your choice.

Category #3 presents the challenge of coming up with the next D.E.F. fundraiser jewel that can be mass manufactured (by Simmons Jewelry Co. or another firm) and sold as a charity jewel for under $500 retail.

For the past several years "The “Green Bracelet” has become the symbol of the Diamond Empowerment Fund. The rough diamond and malachite Green Bracelet created by Simmons Jewelry Co. supports educational initiatives that develop and empower people in African nations where diamonds are a natural resource.

Green has long been associated with the continent of Africa and its rich natural resources. For example, Green is one of the three colors of Pan- Africanism represented in the flags of several countries. For Simmons Jewelry Company, Green provides inspiration and reminds us of Africa’s most important natural resource, the human being.

What would you design to continue this legacy??????????? It doesn't have to be green nor be a bracelet -- what could you see a lot of folks wearing to show their concern for the cause?

Apply to the Women's Jewelry Association's DIVA Design Competition and show the world how you'd support the cause. Get the application here: http://www.womensjewelry.org/DIVAAwards.

The contest deadline is MAY 4th -- so hurry!

Where the High-end Customers are Shopping

The recession has chilled the spending of even high-end customers. Unity Marketing, a luxury consumer research firm based in Stevens, Pa., provided WWD with a look at the top, midtier and discount stores where consumers with annual incomes of $250,000 or more said they’ve been shopping. “The stigma attached with shopping down-market is gone,” said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing.

Topping the list is Target (46% said they'd shopped there in the past year) followed by Costco, Macy's and then, finally, the old-luxury standard Nordstrom (31.9%). You can see the whole list on WWD.com.  Don't worry, Neiman Marcus and Saks made the list but so did J.C. Penny and Walmart!

My Advice for Jewelry Sellers this Trade Show Season

My advice for retailers when they head out to the Vegas Shows is to keep an open mind and be more optimistic than the current facts allow. By this I mean, you cannot create your store of the future if you're buying inventory based on your past.

Don't let fear, or the pain of recent months, drive your buying decisions.

This is the time of every norm breaking down -- of every part of your business being fractured in some way -- so do not follow what you've always done. Do not buy JUST what you "think" is safe since the old safe doesn't exist in the new marketplace.

Be open to new designers -- be open to reviewing designers you've said no to in the past.

Try blackened metals if you never thought it would work in your town or add some new colored stones or a line that is a little too avant garde for what you think your customer is. Go bigger, or more sentimental, or more colorful -- go MORE something!

Be open to the fact that your customer is thinking in new ways and trying on new things that SHE never thought about either.

Be her agent for change -- be her tour guide into new design territory that previously she might have been closed to based on a limited view.

She's scrambling to redefine herself, too. She's itching to break out of the doldrums she's been in for months or even years. If she walks into your store nowadays she's dying to be wowed.

And it's no longer just size or price that will wow her. She might not need that 2 carat diamond to impress her neighbors anymore -- she might need a personalized jewel or a sentimental choice that can show off her life rather than just her lifestyle.

And by show off I mean celebrate to the world.

Where once she might have wanted just something that screamed status -- whatever that may mean to her social crowd -- now she might want to communicate her commitment to family, social causes, environmental issues or other things that underscore her new values.

The world is different now -- luxury has to have meaning with it to movtivate the customer into parting with her money. They're not comfortable or fulfilled, by bling for bling's sake. They want more from their purchases -- they want meaning, a sense of value or to underscore their values,  they need to feel good about the message as well as the medium.

So shop with an open mind -- look for collections and items that can underscore this new, emerging definition of luxury. Your customer is waiting for you to present this to her -- she just might not know it yet.