Applications are now open online for the eleventh annual IJL KickStart competition. Emerging UK based jewellery designers, who have been trading for more than 12 months, are invited to pitch for a place on this much lauded career-boosting mentorship programme.
The winning ten designers will benefit from extended industry mentoring, including support from the Goldsmiths’ Centre, branding and marketing advice, invaluable introductions, industry-wide publicity, the opportunity to showcase their collections on the KickStart stand at IJL 2020. In addition, the chosen designers will receive a dedicated bursary from The Benevolent Society to assist with London accommodation and transport costs, in return for submitting a post-show report on how the scheme has enriched their careers. They will also be able to join The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ), if not already a designer craft member, with the joining fee waived.
The KickStart initiative is a key link in the IJL Journey, providing a unique path that guides jewellery design talent at all levels – from final year student to highly successful consumer-facing brands. Andy Ventris, IJL Show Director, explained: “Our KickStart programme is a very special launch pad for talented, ambitious jewellery designers. Just as IJL, the show at the heart of the global jewellery industry, evolves year on year to meet the industry’s needs, these KickStarters will have the chance to similarly excel on their own IJL journey. To date over 90 contemporary designers have all kickstarted their careers this way. Well known jewellery designers such as Laura Parra, Cara Tonkin, Daisy Knights, Anna Loucah, Claire English, Imogen Belfield, Phoebe Sherwood and Kristjan Eyjolfsson, to name but a few, are on our rostra of previous winners and, as one, they all agree that this is a first class ticket! We look forward to meeting them all at IJL Alexandra Palace.”
NAJ Jewellery Industry Promotions Ambassador, Lindsey Straughton, added: “The KickStart programme has been revitalised this year with, in particular, additional mentoring. In the current economic environment, a scheme such as KickStart plays an increasingly vital role in helping talented up and coming designers make their mark within the industry. It opens so many doors and provides unique access to IJL’s trade-only audience across the jewellery sector who come to the show to discover the talent of the future.”
Ulrikke Vogt, one of the first KickStarters in 2009, commented: “KickStart helped me get a fast growth to my business. I got to know the market in a way I would have had to work very hard for without the KickStart platform.”
The KickStart class of 2019 included Aurelie Dellasanta of Aurelie Dellasanta Jewellery, Becca Macdonald of Becca Macdonald Studio, Bine Roth of Bine Roth Jewellery, Hannah Blackwood of Hannah Blackwood Jewellery, Lukas Grewenig of Lukas Grewenig Jewellery and Vanessa Pederzani of Heirloom Jewels.
Applications are now open online at www.jewellerylondon.com and close on 1 May 2020. IJL 2020 takes place at Alexandra Palace, 13-15 September.