My booth looked mostly the same as in Baltimore, but I did add some new photo banners from the recent photoshoot with Jennifer Simonson. Don't they look great!?
(Here you can see me posing in front of one of the photos so that it looks like Katy's hand is patting me on the head. :)
And have a look here at some of the pieces (some new, some I had in Baltimore) that were at the show!
And I got some nice press from Minnesota Monthly Blog - have a look at the product photos that they featured to find my earrings!
Thanks American Craft Council! Looking forward to next year!!
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So…here's a confession. I have a terrific jewelry collection (lots of my own designs, lots purchased or traded from other designers I’ve met along the way, and a bunch of cool pieces that my parents have given me from their travels abroad over the years), but until a couple of weeks ago, it was a total mess. And I hate to admit it, because embarrassingly, many of the pieces were in danger of becoming damaged and/or completely forgotten. But seriously – is there any good way to keep things both easily accessible and not stored in a tangled, messy pile?
My previous solution was to use the plastic hardware caddies you can get at the hardware store – flip top boxes with lots of little compartments. I used these for the pieces I was currently wearing most often, and it was functional, I suppose, but so UGLY! (Seriously? Yuck!) And worse, everything that didn't fit in the boxes was in two shoe boxes in my closet where they hadn't seen the light of day for...years, maybe? (For shame, I should know better.)
But why not get a fancy jewelry box, you say? I get catalogs from jewelry store suppliers with all kinds of fancy pants jewelry boxes – so I have access to plenty of options. But here is what I don’t like about them: they are not space efficient (HOW many boxes would I have to get to fit my collection?); they are bulky & expensive; and their (most common) dark wood finish makes them look more like a humidor that belongs in an office on the set of Mad Men than something that fits in my bedroom. Well, you ask, how about those cute hanging solutions, like the darling & precious miniature tree that sits on your dresser, or the cute, tiny fake deer head that lets you hang your lovely necklaces on display on your wall? So adorable…in my friend’s house where they haven’t got cats. At my house, it sounds like a “hilarious” game for my cats Pixie and Mochi, that at best ends in wrecked jewelry, and at worst, a trip to the emergency vet. (Also, FYI - all of your silver will tarnish more quickly sitting out in the open air.) So, no thank you.
But I’ve recently found the perfect solution for my jewelry collection, and I’ll be happy to share it with you! On a recent trip to CA (we were staying in lovely Santa Monica), I visited the Muji store. (If you aren’t familiar, Muji is a Japanese brand that makes simple, reasonably priced & beautifully well-designed products for home and work – organizational things, notebooks & pens, kitchen stuff, etc.) I love their products and their store and try to visit one whenever I am in LA or NYC. This time, I found a clear acrylic 5 drawer case. It is clean & modern, and looked perfect for storing my jewelry. And its only $27.95 – much less expensive than a fancy pants jewelry box. I bought two!
Muji also sells all kinds of inserts for separating and storing individual pieces of jewelry…but this is where they lost me. One little tray on its own wasn’t too expensive, but had I purchased all of the trays & accessories that I’d need, the whole project would have quickly added up to a total that was pretty close to the expensive jewelry box option. Furthermore, the trays and accessories are soft gray color and interrupt the view through the all-acrylic box, which was a feature that I really liked. So, I decided to design my own system to keep things separate. It’s a really simple system of box dividers that has notched length and width units that allow you to create any number of differently sized spaces within each drawer to accommodate your rings or bracelets, and keep all of your necklaces separate so that the chains don’t tangle. And I had them laser cut in clear acrylic so that the visual effect is minimal and its easy to see all of the jewelry. You can see them here on the left with sticky paper still on them which protects the acrylic during cutting (and makes them easier to photograph), and then on the right with the paper peeled off and inserted in the drawer.
As I mentioned in my previous post about my trade show display, I often design pieces for display and prototyping on my computer, and have them laser cut. I use a company called Ponoko, and they are terrific. Ponoko is set up so that anyone from hobbyist to professional can use their service and small orders are welcome. And they also have a marketplace where you can get peoples’ designs – either in the form of finished products or as design files you can then make yourself. In my case, I have put the design for the box inserts up here, and the design is free! If you’d like to have your own clear acrylic display with clear acrylic dividers, you can go to Muji and purchase the box, and to Ponoko to download the free file for the dividers. The Ponoko file has 10 length units and 20 width units – a few more than I used for either one of my 5-drawer boxes, so it should suffice for one Muji box. The cost to have the dividers cut is about $40 – making the total considerably less expensive than the fancy wood jewelry boxes that I’ve seen in the supply catalogs (which retail from $150 - $460), don’t hold as many pieces, and aren’t customizable!
One caveat…if you’re thinking of ordering one of my big, new Origami rings, well funny thing…the ring is too big for the drawer! I have mine currently sitting on top of the box. But I’ve looked into it and there are some other smaller Muji cases with just two deeper drawers, so maybe I’ll have to order one and keep you posted.
And secretly (clearly, not so secretly)...I love that I made a ring that is too dang big for my jewelry box!
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Of course, I was in regular contact with my sweetie/best friend/husband Adam – here I am texting him my jewelry for the day before the show…getting words of encouragement so that I could get out there and go work it! I am by nature a bit of an introvert, so despite the fact that I enjoy going to shows and love talking to customers, it does take me a little bit of psyching up to get out of the head-down-at-the-studio-bench mindset and into the outgoing-meeting-clients head space.
And here I am showing off the earrings that had just sold...they were featured as one of my booth photos! (Guess I'll have to get another photo banner made. Yay!)
I was also delighted that my new booth set up worked out so well. For extra security during the retail section of the show (which can be crowded and means that at times there are many shoppers standing near your product) I designed these clear acrylic boxes. I laid them out in a drawing program on my computer and had them laser cut. They worked great and being entirely clear acrylic, didn’t interrupt the view of the jewelry.
Now, I’m so happy to be back in Minneapolis and super excited that I get to work on more new one of a kind pieces. I'll keep you posted! Better get back to work!!!
Check out the new slideshow on karinjacobson.com!
When my marketing/PR specialist (and good friend) Rachael suggested to me that I should have photos for the website of my new collection on a real, live human, I thought, “Of course!” (facepalm) “why didn’t I do that sooner?” She made the point that it would not only be pretty, but would help people see how the work sits on a body, and help them to envision it on themselves. And the photos definitely achieved that.
But what I hadn’t suspected was how it would change the way that I look at the new collection. After working out the meticulous details on the new line, staring at it from only inches away for many months, I had lost all perspective on the pieces as jewelry - as art to be worn on the body. They had become miniature sculptures to me, and I love that sculptural aspect of the work, but it made me love them even more to see them on the body, and helped me revisit the excitement I had when I was first conceiving the new project.
And here on the blog, you get a backstage view of the day:
I hired photographer Jennifer Simonson to do the shoot. I’ve known her for years (I met her first as a client, and also made her wedding ring!) and have always loved her work, ranging from photojournalism to wedding photography, to her current specialty photographing food. Her photos are beautiful and I knew she’d be a great match for the project.
Then I enlisted the help of my dear friend Katy, who generously said yes when I asked her to model. You don’t get to see her entire face in any photo, since the shots are jewelry close-ups (too bad, because she’s gorgeous, as you can see here), but I think that took the pressure off and made for a less self conscious first modeling gig. (It also worked to give the shots that "it could be you wearing this piece" vibe that we were going for.) Katy was a very good sport and I’d like to thank her publicly for being able to stand so dang still – its not as easy as it looks, y’all.
And finally, my marketing & PR guru Rachael came to help out. She was the perfect third pair of eyes on the project, and really knows how to hold one of those reflective thingies! And as she pointed out, she, “excelled at craft services and generally hanging out”. I concur - she was great fun to have at the shoot, super helpful with styling...and coffee and pastries were enjoyed by all!
I couldn’t have asked for a more fun group of ladies to work with on a Saturday morning.
Thanks, friends!!
]]>All in stock jewelry is 10% off, and I'll wrap your gift up with chocolate & a red ribbon!
Stop by my studio to pick up something for someone you love...and of course, that does include you...
First Thursday Open Studios
in the Northrup King Building
1500 Jackson St., NE, Studio 288
Minneapolis, MN
Thursday, February 4; 5 - 9pm
]]>And adding a blog to the new site!
Because people often ask me how I got my start making jewelry, I thought a great first blog post would be a little bit about me…
I got my first taste of jewelry design while attending the Perpich Center for Arts Education, a fine arts high school in Minneapolis. That beginner class led to an apprenticeship, starting the summer I graduated from high school, and turned into a job working as a bench goldsmith for the next 7 years, during which I also attended college and graduated from the University of Minnesota. It was with this practical jewelry education and (okay, a little impractical) liberal arts education, and most importantly my burning desire to make my own designs, that I started my own business in 2000.
I launched my flagship collection at the prestigious and world renowned modern art museum, the Walker Art Center, and have been adorning jewelry lovers ever since! Just two short years later, I got a huge boost by being named Grand Winner of the American Jewelry Design Council’s New Talent Competition, which helped establish my jewelry as a national brand. Today, I have a bright and sunny studio in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, the epicenter of a vibrant community of Minnesota makers – recently named Best Arts District by USA Today!
I’ve always been inspired by a bold, modern look with clean lines and big, juicy stones. My collection, Super Karin Jewelry, is a line of super-heroine inspired cocktail rings and other bright, colorful pieces made in recycled sterling silver and lab-grown stones - the look is bold and playful, but also conscientiously sourced and affordable. I like to think that wearing one of my big colorful cocktail rings will make you feel like a superhero!
But that superhero vibe didn't come fully to life until I started working with illustrator Sean Tubridy, who conceived and illustrated my comic book. He took a long look at my jewelry and got to know me as a person, and suggested we make the comic book featuring Super Karin, "the galaxy's most stylish superheroine". Super Karin and I do have some things in common - we both like fabulous jewelry and martial arts (I practiced Muay Thai for 14 years so I, too, can throw a decent kick), but we have our differences as well - she is clearly taller than I am, knows how to use a sword and looks stunning in yellow (definitely not my color).
My hope for this collection is that anyone who wears it will feel bolder, shinier, stronger and more fabulous every time they wear a piece. I want it to rock your day!
Welcome to my new website!
Karin
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