Chihiro MakioContinuing our look at the Saul Bell Designer Awards 2010 Finalists in the Bead category, here is a short bio and review of the next finalist, Chihiro Makio.

Chihiro Makio, Sommerville, Massachusetts

After graduating from Massachusetts College of Art in 2000 with a fine art's degree in glass and small metals, Chihiro Makio started her own jewelry design label, 314 Studio, and quickly began to gain accolades from within the jewelry design industry.  Her appearance in this year's Saul Bell Designer Awards finalist list should be no surprise, as she scooped up prizes four years in a row, from 2003 to 2007!

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Pallavi FoleyAll this week we will be looking at the talented finalists of this year's Saul Bell Designer Awards.  Now in their tenth year, the awards are a prestigious competition showcasing the work of some of the most talented and creative jewelry designers in the world.  Although the finalists actual designs are not yet available to the public, we take a look at the artists' portfolio of work to give you a background for each candidate.

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Here is the second installment of answers to our interview questions from Mindy Recht, of CJ Recht jewelry brand.  Read Part One here.

What keeps you motivated?

I love doing trunk shows! When people try on my jewelry and look good in it and say they love it, I get jazzed. I take a highly personal approach to designing and making jewelry. After all, there’s years of work and dreams behind every piece, so it’s gratifying when someone really appreciates the work.

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Mindy Recht, the design/creator behind the CJ Recht jewelry brand eloquently answers The Jewelry Report questions in this open and honest interview.  In fact,  her answers were so appealing that we gave her twice as much space to express herself!  Check back on Wednesday for part two of her interview. 

I love the stylish simplicity and flowing lines of your collections. How did you develop your style?

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What would you do with $10,000 to spend on jewelry making supplies at Rio Grande? Perhaps you could use a new bench to work at?  A state-of-the-art kiln to speed up production?  Or maybe you would stock up on materials for your best selling designs.  Personally, I don't think it would take me much longer than a few hours to burn a serious hole in my windfall as I quickly ticked items off my wishlist, invested in new tools and splurged on some exciting new gemstones and materials to experiment with! 

This kind of injection of capital for relevant expenditures could certainly take most jewelry making businesses to new heights, or at least help to start the new year off with a healthy amount of stock.

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"Stuart Berger is an environmentally conscious jewelry design company that blends recycled precious metals with both natural and faceted gemstones to create dynamic, fashion--forward jewelry."  It's a description that is difficult to argue with, as the company delivers just that.  Their designs are contemporary and polished yet never stray too far from the natural form of the materials as to detract from their raw beauty.  I talked to co-founders Matt Stuart and Michael Berger to get a glimpse behind the scenes of this exciting new brand.

Where do you find inspiration?              

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There was good news for jewelers this week as both the Wall Street Journal and National Jeweler magazine reported that jewelry sales were positive through November, with Black Friday sales being particularly good for such a bad year.  Although the majority of store owners still complained that sales were slow, 47% reported an increase; a statistic which offers tentative hope that the recession may be lessening it's grip on consumer spending.Understandably, stores reported a higher level of consumer spending on lower end jewelry such as silver, while platinum and gold sales were poorer than in previous years, even scaled for the overall lower sales figures.

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Of all of the jewelry making techniques, piercing or sawing is often the most challenging.  Simple in principle, yet tricky to master, jewelers are divided on whether they love or hate this part of the creative process.  Some love the high level of concentration required and the instant gratification of seeing something take shape, and I have even heard one jeweler call it soothing, like meditation.  Others (myself included) often end up snarling at the lack of cooperation between blade and metal.  So here are some top tips on how to take some of the hassle out of sawing.

Use a Paper Template

Draw your design onto paper first, and then stick this to your piece of silver.  Not only with this provide you with a clear pattern, but will also mean less surface marking.  Some jewelers also find that the paper provides a good texture for sawing.

Get Slippery

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Oh what to do with your time when you're a rich and famous celebrity?  Savvy celebs know that the best way to fill their spare time is with ways to become even more rich and famous, and the favorite expansion of brandingdu jour is jewelry.  2009 has seen several famous faces lend their names to a jewelry collection, from Nichole Ritchie designing for Bebe (aiming at youngfashionistas not averse to whipping out their platinum cards for the latest bling) to Jessica Simpson who opted to create a line of affordable jewelry to be stocked in department stores such as Dillards and Macy's (created with middle-America firmly in mind.) This week saw a flurry of announcements of other celebrities jumping on the jewelry bandwagon. 

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Duncan Stevens is one jeweler that is not afraid to take design to the next level.  His work is often bold and daring, which of course has made him a darling of the high fashion world, and his pieces have been seen on catwalks in London and Johannesburg where he spends half of his time.  Here he takes a break from his jet setting lifestyle to talk to The Jewelry Report about his work.

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