The National Association of Jewellers
The National Association of Jewellers
04/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/17/2024 03:28
Bright New Gems 2024 - The Mentoring Scheme for Graduating Jewellery Designers - Opens for Applications
Bright New Gems 2024 - The Mentoring Scheme for Graduating Jewellery Designers - Opens for Applications
17 Apr 2024
Bright New Gems, the leading mentoring programme for graduating jewellery designers, is now open for applications to 2024 graduates. This annual programme, which nurtures new talent and provides the six winners with their first commercial platform, is once again generously supported by industry bodies, including the NAJ, Retail Jeweller and the Benevolent Society - joined this year by Jewel Ads, the online digital marketing service provider.
Nineteen years after naming its first winning graduates, the popular BNG initiative has supported eighty-five BNG to date as they embark on their careers. The roll-call of previous winners reads like the 'Whose Who' of the jewellery industry and includes respected British designers such as Pippa Small, Fernando Jorge, Ruth Tomlinson, and Zeemou Zeng-not forgetting Tomasz Donocik.
Returning panellists for 2004 include influential press editor Maria Doulton (Editor-in-chief/Co-founder of The Jewellery Editor), together with jewellery designer and responsible and sustainable industry expert Susi Smither (Founder of both The Rock Hound, East London's Gemmologist Jeweller and Fair Luxury collective) along with Tomasz Donocik, award-winning designer and 2006 Bright New Gem. Also returning as the retail associate are John Lewis & Partners represented by jewellery buyer Elena Bergonzi.
We welcome a newcomer to the panel this year - Liz Olver MA RCA, Independent Jewellery Consultant. With 37 years involvement in the jewellery sector, Liz is passionate about investing her knowledge, experience and passion to help small businesses succeed and comments,
"I'm absolutely thrilled to be invited to join the panel of judges for Bright New Gems. It's a true delight to participate in this prestigious mentoring program. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to collaborate with renowned experts to shine a light on the brightest talents in jewellery design, celebrating and supporting the next generation of creative minds."
The Application Process
Jewellery designers graduating summer 2024 from UK colleges and universities can apply and the competition is open to both current year BA and MA UK graduates. They can submit their work for both or either of the two categories:
Show Off - Statement pieces
Designs and/or finished pieces showing creative flair with innovative use of materials and which demonstrate potential commercial viability
and
Responsible Thinking - Sustainable eco-heroes
Designs and/or finished pieces made with ethically sourced or sustainable materials and which demonstrate potential commercial viability
The two degree groups will be judged separately and four BA winners and two MA graduates will be selected by the stellar line up of judges. All will benefit from publicity and valuable online mentoring in the Autumn, provided by Retail Jeweller, the National Association of Jewellers, and judges Susi Smither and Liz Olver as well as virtual meetings with the judges to discuss their work.
The Bright New Gem programme will roll out in April through the colleges and universities and the deadline for submitting entries is Sunday 16 June.
The Programme
Retail Jeweller have invited the six winning Bright New Gems to showcase their collections at the two-day UK Jewellery Festival in March 2025. Here they will meet senior retail decision makers and buyers and also have the opportunity to hear from some of the most respected names in retail, talking on topics including the future of the store and experiential retailing. The Winners will be announced in September with monthly online mentoring webinars with guest speakers, leading up to the February pre-show online mentoring led by the NAJ, prior to the UK Jewellery Festival in March 2025. As in previous years, the National Association of Jewellers will contribute valuable hands-on career advice on how the winners can best maximise the opportunity to showcase their work at the UK Jewellery Festival.
The Benevolent Society has kindly agreed to provide each winner with a bursary of £400 to help towards travel and exhibiting costs.
Gay Penfold, Chairman of the Benevolent Society, explains,
"The Benevolent Society is delighted to support the 2024/25 cohort of Bright Young Gems. We have been supporters of this valued education and training initiative for several years and wish every success to these young businesses.
"2024 is a milestone year for the Benevolent Society as we celebrate 100 years of support for individuals from British Allied Trades Federation (BATF) industries. We look forward to hearing how these Bright Young Gems careers develop in the future."
Jewel Ads will provide valuable ongoing online support, including showcasing the winners and their work in the lead-up to the 2025 Jewellery Festival. Running on a twelve-month rolling basis, this will cover producing a special Bright New Gems directory listing and a lookbook for the winning designers for use from October onwards. In addition, Jewel Ads will create a dedicated stand at each of their 6 annual online exhibitions - commencing in February 2025 with a preview of the Festival and running through until October, at which point the new Bright New Gems will be announced.
Matthew Hamilton, Director of Sales, Online Trade Shows & Trade Directory with Lookbooks, adds,
"Jewel Ads are delighted to help promote some of the incredible new design talent coming out of our colleges and into their new careers. Supporting Bright New Gems helps us to bring fresh design ideas into our creative industry and it is this that helps the jewellery trade thrive."