An eminent panel of consumer media experts, together with the British luxury fine jewellery designer, Shaun Leane, are set to select IJL’s 2017 Bright Young Gems – the five young jewellers chosen to be the industry’s next stars.
Alice Edwards, Jewellery Editor for Sunday Times Style and The Times LUXX magazine, and Charlie Boyd, Executive Fashion and Jewellery Editor at both Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country, have been appointed to the panel of judges for the 2017 Bright Young Gems selection panel.
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They join Hilary Alexander OBE, Editor-at-Large Hello Fashion Monthly; Annabel Davidson, Editor of Vanity Fair on Jewellery, and the award-winning British jeweller, Shaun Leane.
2017 marks the 12th year for Bright Young Gems, the IJL initiative which is recognised as the major platform for yet undiscovered jewellery designers. The Bright Young Gems Hall of Fame includes jewellers such as Pippa Small, Tomasz Donocik, Daisy Knights, Imogen Belfield and Fernando Jorge.
The winning designers will not only have the opportunity to exhibit at IJL this September, but also join the 2017 KickStarters (emerging UK designers looking to take their business to the next stage) at a one-day mentoring workshop with leading jewellery experts in June.
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This intensive, dedicated session is designed to ensure these talented new designers maximise their IJL experience and capitalise on the benefits of exhibiting at the UK’s premier jewellery industry show.
Sam Willoughby, Event Director, comments: “It is a real pleasure to welcome both Alice and Charlie onto the Bright Young Gems panel. We say farewell and thank you to both Vivienne Becker of the Financial Times and Claudia Mahoney of Glamour magazine – both of whom have offered such valuable advice and guidance to many of our Bright Young Gems over the years.
“Unveiled each year as the industry’s stars of the future, these chosen young designers never fail to inspire. And we’re delighted that the lucky five will enjoy fantastic exposure at IJL as their first commercial platform, with an unique opportunity to showcase their work to such an influential audience.”
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Alice Edwards, Jewellery Editor for the Sunday Times Style and The Times LUXX magazine, adds: “Initiatives such as Bright Young Gems are essential to promoting and championing Britain’s long history of talented jewellery designers. I’m very excited to see who we find this year.”
Charlie Boyd, Executive Fashion and Jewellery Editor at Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country, agrees: “The jewellery industry has a wealth of very experienced designers and well-established brands, but it is crucial that we safeguard its future by promoting young talent, and by offering them a supportive platform so that they can continue to innovate.”
British designer, Shaun Leane, says: “I have always felt that the UK has been a hub of creativity and opinion formers. Therefore, I think it is extremely important for platforms such as Bright Young Gems to guide the next generation of British jewellery designers and makers. This provides them with the tools and confidence to showcase their talent to an international audience. We have to nurture our young talent.”
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Steff Wills, 2016 Bright Young Gem, comments on her personal experience: “Being selected as a Bright Young Gem was an amazingly inspiring experience. Getting to show my graduate work and new collection to a huge audience at IJL is incomparable to anything else. Already I have had so many opportunities from being at IJL including online retail stockists and lots of press coverage.”
Applications are now open for the Bright Young Gems 2017. Final year students at colleges and universities across the UK as well as graduates who are one to two years out of college can apply now.
Details of how to apply can be found on the Bright Young Gems hub. The closing date for Bright Young Gems 2017 is Tuesday 9 May 2017.
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