Springtime in New York has never Sparkled this Bright!

In artistic collaboration, Sarah Graham and llyn strong gallery will be introducing their latest creations at New York’s Annual Sculptural Objects & Functional Art Fair (SOFA), April 14^th -17^th. The fair is being held at the Park Avenue Armory and will offer a VIP opening night preview on April 13^th for first selection of all artwork.

Sarah will be featuring her Shadow Dome Collection and llyn will be offering her “Modullyn” jewelry as well as sculptured flatware and jeweled boxes. The artistry of sixteen other incredibly talented jewelry and glass artists will also be a presented as part of this magnificent collection.

Hailed as the World’s Foremost Fair of Contemporary Decorative Arts & Design SOFA includes more than 50 galleries from around the world.

For further details please visit llynstrong.com/upcomingshows or sofaexpo.com/NY/2011.

Springtime in New York has never sparkled so bright!

JQ Retailer's Choice Designer of the Year: Sarah Graham

We are thrilled to announce our designation as 'Designer of the Year' by JQ International Jewelry Magazine! Now in it's 6th year, the JQ Retailer's Choice Designer Awards recognize design excellence within the fine jewelry industry. Winners in nine distinct design categories are selected by JQ International's retailer readers through an online voting ballot on their website, JQIntl.com. Nominations for each category are based strictly on the retailer's choice for their favorites from among all fine jewelry designers and are not based on submitted entries. Each year, this exclusive group of nine winners, including Designer of the Year, is honored at a special awards ceremony held during the June Las Vegas trade shows.

The Designer Jewelry Opportunity: How to Transform a Mainstream Retailer into the Most Unique Jewelry Store in Town

You know what you need to do, but you’re not sure how. Join a panel discussion dedicated to giving a jewelry store the confidence and answers it needs to make the changes that will help them differentiate, stay competitive and revolutionize the way their store is perceived by their customers forever.

Stores that embrace change and strive to innovate are stores that survive, and many have flourished in an unsteady economy by incorporating designer jewelry into their product mix. AJDC president Todd Reed and Vice President Sarah Graham lead a discussion with the owners of two top retailers who have over 50 years of combined experience in the jewelry business. Both stores turned to designer jewelry when times got tough, and have relied on this product mix to see them through the inevitable ups and downs of our ever changing, but never boring, industry.

I. Gorman, a family owned business since 1981, began experimenting with designers in the early 80s, and by the time the recession of the early 90s hit, they were glad the had – they found themselves well positioned to survive what would otherwise have been a crippling economy had they not set themselves apart from the crowd by offering their customers jewelry they couldn’t find anywhere else. As competition grew and the designer ‘gems’ they had discovered became more mainstream. I. Gorman saw a need to differentiate themselves again and altered course in mid 90s by introducing newer jewelers as well as international designers. Today, Nicole and Adam Gorman are witnessing yet another evolution in their customer’s tastes and are adjusting their product mix to suit – and still find the designer pool to be their best source for filling their cases with the newest and most innovative jewelry.

Babs Noelle of Alara Jewelry began her career as a bench jeweler in 1988 and sold her designs through her retail store. Her success reached a ceiling in 1998 when, tired of watching business walk out the door and unable to find enough time to make everything herself, she realized that if she were going to grow, she needed to offer diversity to her customers, and so turned to the designers that she respected and appreciated. Babs has been committed to designer jewelry ever since, and has developed an astute sense for choosing new designers and evaluating their success. She also has an exceptional skill for marketing that grabs her customer’s attention and builds their trust in one of the most entertaining campaigns in the industry.

Adam, Nicole and Babs will talk about how they choose designers, how they evaluate a line’s success, and how they formulate marketing strategies that capitalize on the clout of the brands they carry while still building their store’s own brand. They will turn the tables by asking Todd and Sarah their take on certain aspects of the business as well, and finally the audience will have full reign to pose questions to the entire panel. Under the auspice of the American Jewelry Design Council, whose purpose it is to bring understanding to the public about the value and craftsmanship of designer jewelry, Todd and Sarah, along with these hugely successful store owners and the Smart Show, promise a value packed seminar that will layout exactly why and how designer jewelry could be just the change a mainstream store needs to differentiate and excel in any market.

###

The panel discussion Designer Jeweler Opportunity begins at 11:15 am Monday, April 26^th during the Smart Show on Chicago’s Navy Pier. Visit www.smartjewelryshow.com for more details.

Total Immersion

This past Sunday we held our second annual fund raising event for Namaste
Direct, a non-profit organization that provides micro loans, mentorship and
business and vocational training to women entrepreneurs in Central America.
At Namaste's annual fundraiser, tickets to the event are bid on by Namaste
supporters, and the winners get to spend an afternoon in our studio seeing
the jewelry making process from start to finish. We began at 11am with
cocktails and an introduction to the studio and our jewelry design
philosophy. Guests saw samples from our newest collection and learned about
what we do to overcome the various challenges that always occur with a new
design. I demonstrated the wax carving process by making a link for our
newest bracelet design. Then everyone made their way to the kiln and donned
sunglasses in preparation to watch the casting process.
After knocking out the cast pieces from the flask, the group watched
Rose and Kristen as they attached the links into a bracelet using a laser
welder. Everyone took a turn at the welder by trying to melt the eye of a
president on various coins with the laser beam!
We then sat down to an elegant Central American themed lunch, expertly
prepared by Onie Burge of Alchemy Catering. Lastly, everyone had a chance to
enjoy, try on and purchase our jewelry, and 20% of the sales were donated to
Namaste Direct. All in all we raised over $6000 for the organization, which
will help over 100 women start businesses, and everyone left informed,
inspired and well adorned!
To reserve your spot at next year's event contact Sarah@sarahgraham.com, and
to learn more about Namaste Direct, go to www.namaste-direct.org.

Meet Mr. Graham

We have a new man in our life!


This week we travel to New York to introduce our collection for the other half of the population at the upcoming JANY 2009 jewelry show.


‘Spear’ is the name of the introductory collection of jewelry for men, and the inspiration is a radiolarian - a single celled marine organism with a form that is graphic, masculine, and, of course, organic. Mr. Graham combines our signature blackened Cobalt Chrome with sterling accents. Edgier than its feminine counterpoint, the center piece of Mr. Graham is a carabineer type key chain/hold all that embodies the future of men’s jewelry.


Mr. Graham is functional ornamentation for modern men living in the spirit of Ernst Haeckel, George Washington Carver, and Nicolai Tesla. Futurists of their time, all of these men were intellectually multi-dimensional while being deeply seated in the arts. They also set life style trends, not only for their time but for future generations up until the present. Mr. Graham modifies male ornamentation from the traditional standards of men’s jewelry into inventive, elegant design that speaks to the values, technology, altruism and entrepreneurship of the modern gentleman. The designs are organic in nature and expand the established men’s accessory category beyond jewelry into stylish functional gear that improves the client’s ability to organize practical accessories while exuding true fashion proficiency.


The new collection will be available at the JANY show, Booth 1256 Couture Pavilion, and at select locations in the coming months.


To find a retailer that carries Mr. Graham, e-mail us at info@mrgraham.com

mrgraham.com

Mr. Graham in Modern Jeweler

See you tomorrow!

It is quite possible - indeed probable - that we will look back at this last year and marvel at the innovation that sprang from this extraordinary year - innovations that will make those of us who embrace them the few who actually prosper during a recession. I know this, so I have on my list of things to do: ‘Embrace innovation’ and ‘Embrace Change’. But you know how the big ones always linger at the bottom of list…the ones that you copy over and over from list to list, the ones that never get done. But today I am proud to say, I have finally embraced an innovation!

We are always looking for new ways to communicate - communication is a vital part of my every day. Did you know, my studio and business office are in different places – different cities in fact? if you didn’t, it is probably because Denise and I communicate incessantly. In fact, it is only a slight exaggeration to say we are on the phone more than not. It is astonishing, there for, that it has taken me this long to embrace the innovation that is Skype. After putting it off for, oh, two years, I finally spent the, oh, five minutes it takes to download the free software. I did it while I was at the airport on my way to a trunk show at Muse Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and that night from my hotel room I spoke to my husband via Skype with live video and drove my kitties crazy as they ran around the back of the computer screen wondering where the rest of me was.

Back in the studio on Monday, I put James and Denise to the task of comparing our current phone bills with the projected expense of switching all our phone calls to Skype (skype to skype calls are free, but you can Skype to and from regular phones, and even cell phones for a fee) and ordering me a video camera and cordless headset so I can roam the studio freely while talking on Skype. Denise, down in the desert, prepared her office to Skype as well.

Another weekend, another trunk show (this one at I. Gorman in Washington D.C.), another Monday back in the studio…and my Skype equipment arrived! Alas, it took me until Tuesday at 7pm to finally get it all set up, and by then Denise was long gone (one of our generous employee benefits – you get to leave work at a reasonable hour). But, it IS set up, and tomorrow morning Denise and I will be able to communicate all day long for absolutely free…and we will be able to see each other. “Is this the one they want ?” I will ask Denise as I hold up a pair of earrings to my video camera. “Is this the order you want these postcards in?” Denise will ask me, as she holds our latest mailing up to her camera. And, as soon as my stores and customers hook themselves up to Skype, I expect a lot of “Show me the one in steel…the one with a cognac diamond…the one with the bigger diamond!” as we enjoy the next best thing to a personal meeting! (Did I mention it is FREE???!!!! Can you imagine it? Employee trainings…live meetings with your customers…A visual to go along with your/my/their idea to customize the Caged Coral Locket using grandma’s gold and grandpa’s old ring and a diamond that desperately needs to be liberated from a ring that in its current form only brings up bad memories. The possibilities are dizzying!)

So, tonight, as I wrote my last e-mail to Denise to say goodnight, I embraced change once again by altering my sign off from the usual “talk to you tomorrow…” to the more precise “See you tomorrow”!

(Embrace your own innovation www.skype.com)

New Politics of Fashoin

The subject of politics seem unavoidable these days. Yet, in the context of art, maybe we can all see eye to eye, or at least agree that we are witnessing something interesting, and remarkable, and that being of the same opinion is not prerequisite to sharing precious experiences.

The recent election of Barak Obama has dominated headlines on a scale second only perhaps to the economy. There are many reasons why people are enthralled with our new president, not the least of which is his wife, Michelle, who represents an ideal of a strong, independent woman perhaps better than any First Lady before her - at least for my generation. And while her professional resume and accomplishments as a mother are impressive, it is her personal style that is on my mind.

Michelle has been praised for her ‘accessible glamour’, mixing adventurous looks from little know designers like Isabel Toledo with basics from lower priced chains like J-Crew. And while her populist style is probably more a show of restraint than a reflection of a diminishing income, her price consciousness is something that we can all relate to. But it is her preference for boutique designers outside New York’s 7^th Avenue guard that most excites me. This could also be construed as a political move – supporting small business falls in nicely with the Obama rhetoric. But if you take a closer look at the actual designers she has worn, you see a pattern emerge that goes beyond conventional wisdom. The designs of Jason Wu, Thakoon, and the above mentioned Toledo are sculptural works of art that transcend trend and are crafted with a quality fit for a museum. Could it possibly be that Mrs. Obama, between her legal career, raising her daughters, and campaigning for her husband, also has the time to understand and appreciate these designs for the fine works of art that they are?

Those of you reading this blog, and who have an almost equally demanding life style, know that the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’, and that style is not merely an indulgence for those with an abundance of time and money. Once one avails themselves to the superior quality, impeccable craftsmanship and thoughtful details of wearable art, one realizes why the best clothing and accessories deserve the same high regard as the best paintings and sculptures, and that the fashion you wear is a display of your sophistication and appreciation for such. But most importantly, it is an expression of your personal style, and it is wonderful to have a woman in such a high position as Michelle embrace hers with such flair and passion…and politics have nothing to do with