To be a jewelry designer you need to have a strong sense of balance and flow which carries well into many other careers. If you create the jewelry yourself you also need coordination and an eye for detail. Perfectionism is a plus!

All this came into play with her winning fashion collection.
Kathy runs Roseark and is on twitter and facebook


Susan Sarantos
Metalcyberspace

Background

The “Pôle Bijou” today, proposes a contest centers on the theme “Childhood Jewelry”. The reasons behind this choice are :
“Les enfants d’Agathe Courtois”, a company located in the “Pôle Bijou”, proposes to dedicate the majority of its production to children.
The future exhibit location of the “Pôle Bijou”, which will open its door at the end of 2009, will be located in an old nursery.
This is the first contest initiated for the “Pôle Bijou”.

Returning to our theme:

Jewelry: a word that everyone is going to define by their own view and their own approach.
Childhood : a word that can have several different meanings depending on the dictionary used.
• Used to define the first years of human life, from birth to puberty,
• Used to defined children in their entirety, as a stage in life,
• Define the beginning, the birth of something,
• Used sometimes through analogy to depict a relative lack of maturity, a certain naïveté or innocence, in some cases a certain simple mindeness especially if talking about a person “regressing to childhood”.

Furthermore, the word childhood can be interpreted as a common inheritance to all human beings. Each one of us has had a childhood during which he/she has accumulated perceptions, sensations, emotions, and knowledge which contributed to the fabric of who we are today …

The theme, purposely very broad, can be discussed without any restrictions by the participants.

Article 1 – Contest Objectives

This contest of international dimension is exclusively open to students or young creators, self-employed persons or people, with less than 5 years of professional experience (proof will be required).
The objective is to create a jewelry or a collection of jewelry inspired by the theme “Childhood Jewelry”.

Two categories are proposed for this contest:
Jewelry as a series of duplicated pieces (between 50 to 100 pieces maximum)
Jewelry as a series of unique pieces
The contestant should clearly specify which category they would like to compete in. The contest is designed to evaluate the professionalism and the creativity of the young contestant engaged in artistic venues or the arts.

Article 2 – Technical Characteristics of the pieces

Materials to be used : No restrictions except for legal restrictions
Production Techniques : No restrictions
Retail unit price of the product:
Around 150 to 350 euros for Jewelry created as a series of duplicated pieces
Around 350 to 700 euros for Jewelry created as a unique piece

Article 3 – Contest Organization

Le contest is organized and administered by:
Pôle Bijou – Communauté de Communes du Cristal
2 rue Adrien Michaut
54120 Baccarat
France

Contact : Monique Manoha
+33 (0)3 83 76 06 99
Pôle Bijou Baccarat

Le contest will take place in two stages.

Stage 1: Preselection
Application of candidate and submission of project on paper.
15 to 25 proposed projects in each of the two categories described previously will be selected by the jury based on review of the submitted documents.

Stage 2: Selection
The candidates selected for the second stage must present either a prototype or a finished piece of their project. The jury will award the prizes based on the document submitted and the objects presented.

Article 4 – Stage 1 Procedure

Whichever the selected category is, the candidates documents must be received by midnight March 25th 2009, at the following address:
Pôle Bijou
Communauté de Communes du Cristal
2 rue Adrien Michaut
54120 Baccarat
France

They must include :
An application form (see attached) clearly indicating the chosen category.
For students, proof of enrollment, for employed individual, a copy of their work employment contract, for artisans or self employed candidates, a copy of their company’s Identification Number.
Colored designs along with dimensions (format A4 or A3) or electronic 3D files on CD in PDF format.
A full description of each object (materials, size…).
An explanation (in French or English) justifying the esthetic choices, the materials, and the techniques used.
Eventually mock-ups

The selection of the projects and candidates for the second stage will be decided by two juries (one for each category) comprised of:
• professionals of the jewelry industry
• professionals of the arts
• elected members of “La Communauté de Communes du Cristal”

The projects will be judged based on criteria of creativity, aesthetics and production feasibility (especially in the category of “series of duplicated pieces”).

The quality of the project presentation and the respect of the contest rules will be determining factors.

Both the selected and non-selected candidates will be notified of the jury’s decision by mail before the end of April 2009.

Non-selected projects will be returned to the candidates within a period of two (2) months after the final selection. The selected projects will be retained until the end of the contest.

Article 5 – Stage 2 Procedures

The candidates selected by the jury, in both categories, must submit their prototypes of their finished product between September 14th and midnight October 9th 2009.
These objects must be accompanied by an explanation clearly specifying to which initial project they correspond, as well as the candidate’s name and the category for which they are competing.

These pieces will be presented during a “General Public” exhibition between October 24th and November 28th, 2009. This exhibition will take place in the exhibit hall of the “Hôtel de Ville” of Baccarat. The presentation of the objects could include information from the application documents (drawings, ..)

The results of the contest and award of the prizes will take place Saturday November 28th, 2009 during the exhibit.

Article 6 – Prizes

Each jury (“Serie of Duplicated Pieces” and “Unique Piece”) will award three (3) prizes.
Two additional prizes will be awarded during the exhibit:
A prize “jeune public” awarded by popular vote of visitors to the exhibit who are younger than (13) thirteen years old.
A prize “public moins jeune” awarded by popular vote of visitors to the exhibit who are (13) thirteen years old and older.

Cash, artistic material or artistic tools will constitute the different prizes. A decision to produce the object by a partner enterprise could equally be made, in which case a production contract will be required to be signed.

The winners will be notified no later than November 20th, 2009 in order for them to make the necessary travel arrangements to be present for the distribution of prizes. Travel costs, as well as room and board will be paid by the contest organizer.

Article 7 – Project Rights

The candidates authorize the “Pôle Bijou” from “la Communauté de Communes du Cristal” to display their project (winners or non-winners), to cite their authors and to use their design for information and promotional purposes, by any means of communication, especially by print articles, brochures, internet sites, exhibits, and public display, without time limits.

Article 8 – Responsibility

The “Pôle Bijou” from “la Communauté de Communes du Cristal” reserve the right, to shorten, lengthen, delay, modify or cancel at any time the contest under any circumstances. They will contact the candidates regarding any delays as quickly as possible. The contest organizer will not be responsible for any type of liability.

Article 9 – Disputes

In case of disputes related to interpretation or execution of the rules, or in general related to the way the contest is run, french laws will only apply, and only those courts of the “département de Meurthe-et-Moselle” will be allowed to be used.

By participating in the contest, you fully and unconditionally agree to the specific rules, terms an conditions provided for the contest.

Thanks to Angela Baduel-Crispin for sending this along.

Michelle wore her jewels to Election Night activities and the Inaugural Ball. They will become part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum.

Medieval, Renaissance and Byzantine influences this interior decorator turned jewelry designer.

Visit Loree’s website at http://www.loreerodkin.com/

Susan Sarantos
Metalcyberspace
http://www.metalcyberspace.com/

Halstead Bead, Inc. is calling for entries to its fourth annual Business Development Grant competition for new American jewelry designers entering the bridge jewelry trade. The grant will be awarded to a winning candidate in August. All finalists will be eligible for a mentorship program that matches new designers with established and successful jewelry entrepreneurs.

The Halstead Bead Business Development Grant differs from other jewelry industry competitions and awards because of its emphasis on business skills. Entrants must demonstrate not only extraordinary design, but also a strong business strategy.

Designers utilizing a wide variety of fabrication techniques including casting, lampworking, precious metal clay, beading, or metalsmithing are eligible to enter the competition. Candidates must be US citizens who began their businesses after January 1, 2006.

Previous grant winners include Bridgland Studios, Belle Brooke Designs, and Ananda Khalsa Jewelry.

Alchemy: A Passion for Jewels – Temple St. Clair 2008

An exquisite look into the art of fine jewelry making, through the eyes of famed designer Temple St. Clair.

A Southern girl with a nomadic spirit and a voracious appetite for history and culture, Temple St. Clair grew up spending summer vacations in Morocco and Bavaria, studied at an international boarding school in Switzerland, and went night diving in Honduras with the son of Jacques Cousteau. In her early twenties, St. Clair landed in Florence, where she completed a master’s in Italian literature. In fact, she had no exposure to jewelry making until her visiting mother bought an ancient coin and asked St. Clair to commission a local goldsmith to make a piece of jewelry around it.

Armed with the coin and a sketch, St. Clair entered the ancient Palazzo dell’Orafo of Florentine goldsmiths, where she first discovered the centuries-old art of fine Italian jewelry making. Inspired by the distinctive craftsmanship, St. Clair continued to work with artisans to bring her designs to life. A new world soon began to open up to her—a world that engaged her multicultural education, vast experiences, and rich curiosity; a world that awarded her with a new identity as “an amateur anthropologist, a hopeless hunter and gatherer, a bit of a wanderer, and a self-made jewelry historian who loves to dream and draw.”

With an artist’s eye for detail and an unwavering esteem for the historic, St. Clair creates one-of-a-kind pieces that combine ancient influences with traditional craftsmanship and contemporary flair. In Alchemy, she takes readers on an idiosyncratic excursion into the intricate history and craft of jewelry making—from the ancient origins of talismans and charms, to the complicated pursuit of the perfect gemstone—all through the lens of her own fascinating experiences. The result is a mesmerizing and visually stunning book that will appeal to jewelry lovers, artistic dreamers, and anyone who suffers from wanderlust.

(Amazon book description)