Friday 5 October 2012

London Calling - report back on IJL 2012


By Adeline Jubi

The Petals have recently returned from a trip to London and Germany. I was lucky to be sponsored by the DTI (Department of trade and industry) to attend a 4 day International Jewellery Trade Show called  IJL (International Jewellery London) as part of  a South African Pavilion consisting of 15 jewellers.  Each of us got our own showcase on the South African stand to display our work. We received as part of the package, a Plane ticket, hotel accommodation and an Oyster Card for travelling.


I have spent quite some time in London before in the middle 90’s and the accommodation I got used to during that time was, well rather grim. In some of those hostels, you would not dare to take a shower bare feet, as there were alien plants growing in the shower and in most of the teacups as well. This time around, I had my own hotel room in Islington,” nogal”. I had a huge white bed with crisp sheets, no cat or children pushing me to the last 2mm edge of the bed, my own bathroom with hot water, no children barging in and throwing towels on the shower floor = HEAVEN. I did miss the little devils and my husband of course. The atmosphere in London was electric as the Paralympics were on and all the locals and visitors were at their best behaviour and everything was in perfect working order.

Firepetals stand on SA Pavilion; Corola in front of Earls Court Centre; SA Pavilion


The massive Earls Court hall where the IJL show was held had rows upon rows upon rows of bling, watches, stones, beads, tools, jewellers, packaging  and many ,many carats of  fabulous DIAMONDS. Needless to say, it was a jeweller’s dream. The security was extremely tight; it reminded me of something out of James Bond.

The contemporary jewellery section and the bright young things sections were highlights. Displays were innovative and interesting.
IJL Images; Purple orchids lined the hall; Diamond beads (photographs 3 and 4, by 77 Diamonds)
I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Hubbard and seeing his inspirational work on display.


Some exhibitors will do anything to get people onto their stand. Some offer chocolates and popcorn and even free ice cream and then we had the guys from Tresor Paris... They had a chocolate fountain with snacks and beautiful half naked models dressed as a mermaid and King Neptune parading around. The next day the mermaid and Neptune were replaced by equally half naked angels flapping their wings.

The Brits are definitely more Brand conscious than us, building your brand seems like the most important goal to many companies. As for the buyer’s, one would think that workmanship and skills would be more appreciated, in a First world Country, but price and design drives most orders. If it is not cheap enough, they don’t bite, no matter how many hours you spent on the manufacturing process, or how your fingers bled, you might as well just have it manufactured in China or India if it brings the price down. It also seems like the average taste in jewellery is also quite conservative and traditional.

Overall the show was an amazing experience for the many inspirational things we saw and people we met. It is almost like being in an art museum, after a while you get to a saturation point when it is difficult to take in more detail. It was also lovely to be in London again and to see Cologne in Germany and visit old and dear friends. To top it all, It did not even rain once while we were there


The amazing work of Michael Michaud were on display



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