NY Now

The NY Now show is only a few weeks away. It runs August 16-20 and takes place at the Javits center, only a few blocks from our studio, so convenient! NY Now is a gift show, which is basically a kind of market for product creators and store owners to meet and create relationships. Lots of buyers, especially of jewelry and accessories, need to see the pieces in real life before placing orders and commiting to sell them in their own stores. Each seller gets a booth to display their products, and buyers walk throughout the show, placing orders for the coming season. So even though lots of business is done online these days, we still do many gifts shows a year all across the country. Or rather, Michael does the gift shows, and I get to stay home. This is why I love this show. It’s so close to home I can come talk to buyers and bring Michael lunch. It’s always fun to walk around the show and see what everyone else is making. Me and Michael have been doing craft shows, specially for handmade products, for years. Many of the same jewelry makers come year after year, and by now we have tons of friends. Gfit shows are a lot of work, but also lots of fun. Last winter an NYC gift show coincided with the Super Bowl and we got to throw a big party for our fellow sellers at the show.

Yesterday, in preparation for the show, the whole office came and gave their opinions on the new pieces I’ve been working on. I love creating jewelry and designing, but predicting which pieces will be good sellers and what customers want is a whole different thing. Since Michael and Nikki do the shows, I usually take their opinions to heart. There were some things we could all agree on, like putting the bracelets on leather straps instead of on chains. And making Judaica in multiple colors, especially blue. But other things required more discussion, such as the extension of the eye line. I am trying to add some new and very different pieces, that still use the popular eye motif. Overall, only a few pieces were cut, so I’m happy. But in the end it’s what you guys want that matters, so I’ll have to wait and see! Only 3 more weeks. In the meantime, what do you think? Do you want to see more Eye pieces? Do you like bracelets on the leather strap? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook.

Also our big sale starts Friday! Just a heads up. Wait till the weekend to buy anything!

Michal