Watch these videos and get an inside look at noteworthy trade shows and events in the jewelry making and gemstone world.
While Limoges, France was celebrating its 200th anniversary as the city of the “Arts of Fire” this year, July and August will also hold the 10th international Biennial of Enamel exhibiting some of the most exciting new enamelwork worldwide. In…
About 30 miles north of Buffalo, New York, less than 10 miles downstream from Niagara Falls, is a unique facility called Artpark. It is not so much a place as a program; in fact more than that, it is a…
On the second day of the 1984 Society of North American Goldsmith’s conference held in June in New York City, the pragmatic theme of “Art and Industry” was briefly abandoned and esthetic concerns came to the forefront. For one-and-a-half hours…
The Johnson Matthey/Society of North American Goldsmiths Platinum Jewelry Design Competition celebrates its third anniversary this year. The competition represents a coordinated effort on the part of SNAG and Johnson Matthey to promote the use of platinum in the design…
What if They Gave a Conference and Nobody Came? In this article, Donald Friedlich offers his insight and review the 1987 SNAG Conference. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Despite an exciting program, this year’s annual conference of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)…
What is the purpose of a SNAG conference? Why do people come? What are their expectations? Why do some cease to come? Were their expectations not met? Each conference chairman imprints his/her vision onto the conference. He sets the tone,…
Cu3, as a national metal competition, was a sequel – albeit more than ten years later – to Copper 2 (1980) and to the Copper, Brass and Bronze Competition in 1977. The first two exhibitions were shown at the Museum…
Our second conference was a success! The conference started promptly at 9 a.m., August 18 – a beautiful sunny day. Ben Caldwell’s demonstration of his double-torch, large-scale enameling was first up. He setup on the Thompson’s loading dock thus providing…
The overarching theme in major presentations for the diamond and jewelry industry during the JCK Las Vegas Show in June is that times are changing and how we adapt to these changes will determine our success. The following are insights gleamed…
In the 1971 Film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, the title character invites Charlie (and us viewers) to “come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of pure imagination.” While you won’t find any golden tickets or chocolate…
Discover the 2017 Top Jewelry Trends in gold, silver, and platinum—and an update on the metals markets as compiled by Shawna Kulpa. Gold Trends Flowers, Well-done Buddha Mama With darker colors and heavier fabrics gracing the fall runways, Amanda Gizzi,…
In addition to miles of aisles of beautiful finished jewelry on display, the JCK Las Vegas show offered attendees the opportunity to discover the latest in jewelry trend research. At the show in June, trend forecasting service TrendVision as well…
3.121 Cts. Alexandrite Color change
When I first heard about the craft show “Ancient Inspirations: Contemporary Interpretations,” I was impressed. The press information packet that I was sent by Metalsmith, when asked to review this exhibition, struck me as highly professional, obviously put together by…
We need your metal to realize our Nuit Blanche 2009 installation of 10,000 metal objects symbolizing the hours of dedication and practice needed to become a master craftsman. If you really want to send us brass knuckles please make sure…
Colored Gemstones on Men’s Jewelry is becoming a trend and may as will be dominating men’s fashion as noted by Deborah A. Yonick on this article. Read on for her take on this fast becoming fact. ********************* If diamonds are a…
1-16-2009 DAM Design Show, Black tie reception, Jewelry Runway Show
1-16-2009 DAM Design Show, Black tie reception, Jewelry Runway Show
Runway exhibition of 5 metalsmiths-jewelers from Detroit, MI
Research has long suggested that the majority of leads generated by trade shows never receive follow-up by company representatives. If you’re among those exhibitors without any formalized plan or process in place for following up with leads after the show,…
We invited Ettagale Blauer, formerly New York Editor for Jewelers’ Circular-Keystone, to attend the 1986 Society of North American Goldsmith’s (SNAG) conference at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and to provide an outsider’s point of view. Here is her opinion…
In the world of fine art, galleries wield enormous power. Galleries such as Castelli, Knoedler and Marlborough, through the artists they choose to show, dictate which artists and styles are “in” or “out,” which work will receive the most publicity,…
MJSA’s Mary Walek asked me to do a session called “Shop the Show” in New York. When I first read the description of the presentation I had to give I had to think hard. Don’t we all know how to shop already? And at a trade show too, where we know why we are there.
There is nothing that will block the path towards acceptance in a juried situation more quickly than a poor quality or unintelligible image– be it digital or film. The goal is to convey as much information about the piece pictured as possible without ambiguity or confusion. Relying on the jurors having any time or desire to puzzle out what is going on in an image will result in an irritated jury indisposed to accepting the entry. A poor image may indicate to a jury that the artist doesnt take their work seriously enough to find a way to document it well. When the competition is stiff (the amount of quality images/entries is high) this can definitely affect an artists chances of making the cut. There are certainly instances when a piece is so strong that it can shine through a screen of poor photography. But relying on that is faith misplaced. If the only true acquaintance a juror–be they an exhibition juror, book or magazine editor or gallery director– has with a piece is the image taken of it, then that image had better make a positive first impression.
This stop motion film has been created with the metal contributed to the Nuit Blanche 10,000 Hours project. An installation of 10,000 metal objects symbolizing the hours of dedication needed to master an art or craft. Visit http://www,metalartsguild.ca to learn…
Nick Hodgson of Astrogems.com interviews Navratan Manihar of Manihar International Co Ltd at the Bangkok Gem & Jewelry Show about the prolific supply of heat treated Ruby which is very different from natural but used extensively in the conventional jewelry…
Nick Hodgson of www.astrogems.com explains how he buys gemstone crystal material on the streets in the gem mining areas of Sri Lanka. the challenge is to find unheated clean non flawed crystals for cutting and faceting into beautiful gemstones.
Nick Hodgson gives an in depth tutorial on how to use the poariscope for gem identification
Nick Hodgson in an impromptu visit to a sapphire mine in Sri Lanka
Nick Hodgson gives a tutorial on Gem stone identification using the polariscope. This is a two part tutorial.
The first questions to ask yourself when preparing a resume are: For whom is it intended? What do I want it to represent? Applying for a zoo keepers job you might put down your experience carrying llamas across the Andes but you would probably leave it out when apply for a position as a hair stylist. For galleries you should have information they will be interested in: previous exhibitions; articles on your work and so on that serve to establish you as a serious artist/craftsperson in their eyes.
Silver: New Forms and Expressions III Exhibit. Assuming that the work is cohesive, well designed, well made, of sound concept and has meaning, then what is done to such work by the context of a retail space, a department store…
Fortunately, change is inevitable. Even for those individuals in the art establishment who assert that artists cannot and should not be active as curators or critics. This assertion is part of a traditional art would – one built on a foundation of hierarchies and exclusions that erode any modicum of power, control, influence, and authority that an individual artist has on or within the system. When artists actively participate as curators, critics, or arts administrators, this foundation starts to crumble.
The real Alexander Calder is to be found in the intimate work – the toys, gadgets, jewelry – those delightful preoccupations of his that often get overshadowed by the big mobiles that hang in many public spaces. It’s no wonder…
The 2013 Schedule of classes in Matrix and Rhinoceros are available starting March 11…Basic Rhino. These classes are one hour long twice a day. You can enroll in either time session. All times are Pacific. One week compact fast classes…
When I returned from Europe in 1951, my friend Margaret de Patta called and invited me to join a group of metal artists who were structuring an organization dedicated to the needs of producing craftsmen. This group held monthly meetings…
At most trade shows, you could stock up on enough pens, notepads, tote bags, and keychains to start a thriving second business as a flea-market dealer. The problem with such giveaways isn’t that they aren’t useful; it’s that there are so many such items handed out that they make only a minimal impression, at best.