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.
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| 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.
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| IJL Images; Purple orchids lined the hall; Diamond beads (photographs 3 and 4, by 77 Diamonds) |
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| 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
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| The amazing work of Michael Michaud were on display |
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