Call for Entries – Jewelry Design Business Development Grant

Halstead Bead, Inc. is calling for entries to its fifth annual Business Development Grant competition for new American jewelry designers entering the bridge jewelry trade. The deadline for packet submissions is June 9, 2010. The winner of the 2010 Grant will receive $6,000 in cash and jewelry supplies as well as other benefits.

The Halstead Bead Jewelry 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 for their start-up. The application experience promotes the business planning required to make a jewelry brand commercially viable at the national level.

Jewelry designers utilizing a wide variety of fabrication techniques including casting, lampworking, metal clay, beading, or metalsmithing are eligible to enter the competition. Entrepreneur candidates must be US citizens who began their small businesses after January 1, 2007. Their design companies must focus on “bridge” jewelry which is the segment between costume jewelry and fine jewelry that includes accessories in sterling silver, Argentium, semi-precious stones, crystal, freshwater pearls and other similar materials.

Complete application details can be found at http://www.halsteadbead.com/Grant. Candidates must submit a design portfolio, resume and answers to several business planning questions. Applications must be received between April 15 and June 9, 2010. The grant website also includes several helpful articles on launching a national jewelry brand as well as information on past winners and finalists. Previous grant winners include VOSTENAKstudios, Bridgland Studios, Belle Brooke Designs, and Ananda Khalsa Jewelry.

The grant sponsor, Halstead Bead, Inc., is one of North America’s leading jewelry supply wholesalers. The firm was established 37 years ago and now supplies thousands of component resellers and jewelry manufacturers around the globe. Halstead Bead, Inc. is wholesale only and sells findings, chain, wire, sheet & beads for the bridge jewelry segment.

Getting Your Jewelry on the Runway

Keren Peled of Keren Jewelry contributed to this blog based on her experiences with runway shows such as the Abaete Bryant Park show during New York Fashion Week, which is pictured here. Thank you!

Keren Jewelry's Tesana Necklace on Runway Mondel

People traditionally think of magazine advertising or a website when they market their businesses. Some jewelers are also finding publicity success through the fashion runway. Regional fashion shows are teeming with celebrities, socialites, reporters and industry insiders. What better place to be discovered?

Fashion weeks are popping up in metropolitan areas across the nation. These shows showcase established national designers as well as emerging indie talents against a backdrop of local cultural flavor.

Valerie Ostenak of VOSTENAKstudios was recently mentored through her first Phoenix Fashion Week by experienced designer Keren Peled of Keren Jewelry whose work has been in top runway shows in New York and Los Angeles multiple times.

“Participating in Phoenix Fashion Week was an incredible experience for me. . . from the initial meetings with Executive Director Brian Hill and Director of Styling Celestial Williams to the designer business seminars and ‘the show’ it was a fabulous foray into how fashion works…” said Ostenak.

Fashion shows are generally orchestrated by a management group that is responsible for the venue and promotion for the event. The management group is a good place to start for designers wanting to break into fashion since some shows offer seminars, social events or volunteer opportunities to help new designers make connections.

However, it is not show management that chooses accessories for the runway shows. Each clothing designer separately coordinates all aspects of their brief production including hair, make-up, and accessories. To get jewelry on the runway it must be presented to the individual designers participating in the show. …Click below to continue reading this article

Day of the Dead Jewelry

Crafty Chica: Kathy Cano-Murillo Dia de los Muertos Bracelet

Crafty Chica: Kathy Cano-Murillo Dia de los Muertos Pin

Mystic Bohemian Collage Necklace

Grigio Design Numerus 13 Necklace

Illustrated Ink Wood Medallion Necklace

Ilaments Jewelry Necklace

The designs above can be found on the websites and Etsy stores of the talented artists: Kathy Cano-Murillo the Crafty Chica,  Mystic Bohemian, Grigio Design,  Illustrated Ink and Ilaments Jewelry.

The Day of the Dead, or el Dia de los Muertos, is a traditional holiday celebrated by Mexicans and Mexican Americans living throughout North America. Day of the Dead is celebrated on two days, November 1st and 2nd, to remember friends and family members who have passed away. Celebrants honor departed loved ones by creating a decorative altar to commemorate their lives, enjoying a feast with their favorite foods and visiting the family cemetery to pay respects.

The rich cultural traditions surrounding Day of the Dead have yielded a vast array of  handicrafts and jewelry. The skulls, or calaveras, and skeletons, or calacas, can seem a bit macabre to the uninitiated. But, after learning about the vibrant traditions and heartfelt communion with ancestors that define the Day of the Dead it is easy to see the humor and unique aesthetic of el Dia de los Muertos. Far from a somber affair, Day of the Dead is indeed a celebration of life, love and family. Gatherings are full of laughter and fond nostalgia for people who are truly missed.

I adore Latino arts and handicrafts such as vibrantly painted talavera tiles, the small milagro prayer ornaments or the beautiful perforated tin work housewares. Feed your soul by learning about a beautiful cultural celebration and remember your dearly departed fondly with a funny story or a raised glass when you wear these colorful creations.