Press Releases

Free MJSA Designer Collaborative Brings Members Together

Published

7 years ago

August 25, 2016

INSTORE Staff

(Press Release)
MJSA announces the new MJSA Designer Collaborative, a new membership community available only to MJSA members, free of charge. Through it, members can share ideas, discover inspiration and find the support they need to improve their businesses. The collaborative is facilitated by MJSA Designer Advocate Andrea Hill, who has a long association with the jewelry design community. As CEO of the Hill Management Group, a position in which she will continue, she provides strategic consulting and marketing services to many small and mid-sized jewelry businesses. She also initiated various designer-related events and competitions while CEO of industry supplier Rio Grande, and worked closely with the late Cindy Edelstein on many designer-related projects (including the first-ever Future of Design Business Incubator to jumpstart fledgling careers).

Members of the MJSA Designer Collaborative have access to:

MJSA Jewelry Designer Network: This exclusive online social community enables jewelry designers to share information, solicit ideas and feedback, and test new business models and opportunities.
MJSA Design Insights E-Newsletter: This quarterly publication features news and updates of interest to jewelry designers (e.g., contest announcements and deadlines, educational programs). It also offers pricing strategies from consultant Marlene Richey, author of the award-winning MJSA Press book "Profiting by Design: A Jewelry Maker’s Guide to Business Success."

MJSA Design Article Library: Members can access MJSA’s members-only online library of free design-related articles; all were originally published in MJSA Journal, the association’s award-winning monthly magazine. Starting with the January 2017 issue, the journal will launch a new "Behind the Design" section featuring case studies, interviews and practical tips related to jewelry design.
ConFab Creative: Scheduled to debut as part of the 2017 MJSA Expo, this one-day conference will supplement the "profit lessons for designers" offered in the current MJSA ConFab conference (which in 2016 will take place Oct. 30 at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City). ConFab Creative will focus on ways to find design inspiration and insights, and provide technical guidance for transforming design concepts into completed pieces. Members of the MJSA Designer Collaborative will receive a significant discount off the regular registration fee.
MentorWerx Discounts: Members receive a 50 percent discount on all videos, webinars, books, podcasts and other educational materials produced under Hill’s MentorWerx brand.

To register as a member of the MJSA Designer Collaborative, click here and fill out the form.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”