Design Excellence, for designs that exhibit exceptional creativity, craftsmanship, and marketability.

Visionary Technical Solution, for designs in which specific technical challenges-such as combining two non-complementary metals-were overcome to take the piece from concept to completion.

Laser Distinction, for entries in which the design relied upon the use of a laser (sponsored by LaserStar Technologies).

Gold Distinction, for entries that include a minimum of 75 percent of a karat gold alloy in the design (sponsored by Hoover and Strong).

In addition, students in any jewelry-related program may submit rendered designs for the Future of the Industry Award, which recognizes exceptional design achievement and potential.

Award winners will receive up to $1,000 and will be honored on March 16, 2009, at the annual MJSA Expo New York show. In addition, winners will receive recognition in MJSA Journal, as well as other trade publications, and on MJSA Online.

Entries must be postmarked by Jan. 15, 2010. For submission guidelines and further information, or to request an entry form, contact MJSA Vision Awards at 1-800-444-6572, e-mail info@mjsa.org, or visit mjsa.org.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Technology bypasses jewelry, but what if it didn’t? written by Jan Brassem.  Brassem notes that the gorgeous designs he sees designers coming up with are not making it into mainstream department and retail chain stores.   Unimaginative buyers?  Too hooked on using previous sales figures so that all their stock begins to look bland and unimaginative?  Too afraid (for their jobs) to take a chance?

Understandable, but sad.  “The computer always trumps beauty and appeal, “  Brassem writes.  But what if it could be different?  What if technology could be harnessed in the service of the jewelry industry to come up with new new applications for sales (like 3D web technology) and even brand new innovative categories of jewelry?

For the techno-saavy among us, I recommend reading Brassem’s article.    I’ve given you the direct link above, but I have had some difficulty in getting it to work each time.  If you have trouble with it, simply go to the home page and search on the article or author.  It’s worth reading!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

The theme this year is “Heavenly Bodies”, and members interpreted that phrase in quite a few different ways!  I’ll admit that I went for the obvious,and submitted a piece that included celestial imagery.

If you will be in the Fitchburg MA region between now and the beginning of January, Fitchburg Access Television would love to see you

CMWCA founders, C. M. Judge & Joanne Boudreau

Goodnight Moon!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Warren writes:
Over the years, I’ve found that people who bead and make jewelry have not necessarily learned how to make the best choices, when it comes to decide what beads, clasps, other findings, and stringing materials to include, and what Not to include, in a piece. People do not understand quality issues. They are often uninformed about workable materials and strategies to make their pieces more durable, more drape-able, and better able to move with the person as the jewelry is worn.

At The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts and Land of Odds, we developed a curriculum that took a design approach concerned with teaching people how to make these kinds of choices. Everyone in our curriculum begins with this Orientation to Beads and Jewelry Findings class. We offer this opportunity for you, as well.

Please visit the link above to take advantage of the knowledge that Warren is offering.

Image: Land of Odds

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

If, however, you look at the vast array of jewelry and beading books out there and think, “I could contribute to that…I’ve got good ideas!” then keep reading.

Kathy Cano-Murillo, well known as the Crafty Chica, has posted How to write a non-fiction book proposal.  Let me warn you: it’s not quick or easy.  But if you are bursting with things to say and ideas to share that haven’t been said or shared before, Kathy’s article is a good place for you to start.

Kathy knows what she’s writing about.  She has seven published craft books.  So far!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Since shipping is always free in the U.S. and is only $1 to Canada, this special offer is really worthwhile.  Artbeads has a wide selection of beads, findings, and other jewelry making supplies available on their website.  No minimum purchase is required to use this offer!

10% off coupon code: SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0424
expires 12/31/09

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

I came across BlogTalkRadio because I was doing a search on jewelry business topics, and the show 15 Minute Craft Website Tips came up.  Nicolette Tallmadge is the creator of this podcast series, and I definitely suggest that you give her a visit.  Some of her recent topics are comparingyour own website vs an online gallery site, getting more traffic, and using Facebook.  Good stuff here…check it out!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

They can also be an enormous time suck.

To make sure that your tweeting time is productive, Donna Scott on OnlineCollege has written an article called 100 Twitter Tips and Tools to Stay on Top of Your Field.

Nicolette Tallmadge has a audio program on BlogTalkRadio that covers Social Networking Tips for Artists too.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Recently, I did exactly that!

Our town has been holding an arts fest for a couple of years now, called Art Smart. Local artists, musicians, teachers, and organizations are invited to participate. It’s the only “show” that I do anymore, and even though I sell very little (sometimes nothing) at it, I still like to get out there once a year and hear what people are thinking.

Why do a show that you know doesn’t cater to your target audience? I love my town and I love the people. Sometimes that’s good enough.

How about you?  If doing shows is important to your income, can you imagine doing one that you knew would be a selling bust?  You can leave your comments here, or if you’d like to share a picture of your show booth and a link to your site, email me with the details at cyndi @ b5Media.com (remove the spaces).

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

The CHA A&U Study reports the U.S. craft industry is estimated to be $27 billion dollars, with 62 million households, or 56% of households, crafting in the past year. The A&U research provides attitudinal and behavioral information to guide decision-making, whether you are a manufacturer, designer, distributor or retailer.

The A&U results also show that heavy crafters, those completing 21+ projects, are frequently involved in jewelry-making, in addition to other craft segments. Not surprisingly, given the number of projects they complete, heavy crafters are also the biggest spenders. This group represents 28% of all crafters, yet accounts for 64% of industry sales, indexing 229 vs. the average crafter’s spending propensity.

Nine million households participate in jewelry-making, spending $1 billion dollars in the past year. This fact alone should be enough of an incentive to get your crafters more involved in jewelry-making. Some suggestions: create and sell kits and incorporate classes geared toward the fundamentals into your store’s program. Doing so will provide simple project ideas to get the beginners interested in jewelry-making and most likely lead to more sales for your company. It’s also important to keep new project ideas coming for more experienced jewelry crafters. Challenge them and provide inspiration so they will be motivated to craft more often.

No, it’s definitely not the time to quit your jewelry business, especially if you make beads or other components that you sell.  If you don’t, can you think of a way to add them?  It may be tougher to compete with so many finished jewelry makers, but there are still plenty of ways that you could grow a business around serving those makers!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading