Staying Creative, Staying Positive

Nina Designs is a local company I respect and admire and who have been in the biz of supplying jewelry designers for many years. Nina recently started a blog and interestingly started her first topic is on the issue of copy cat designers.

Nina has a refreshing take that I think is sensible and the reality of working in the highly competitive world of jewelry design. "While frustrating, copycats are just a fact of life in fashion. They can even help drive up demand for your designs." And whether or not we as designers want to admit it, small designers especially benefit from larger fashion trends, whether it is Swarovski crystal bracelets one year or big chandelier earrings the next. People want to be in fashion and wear items that they see in the mainstream, as well as wear aspirational pieces.

Read Nina's blog on copy cat designers here.

I've been on both sides of the issue and I know that it's a challenge everyday to stay true to your own creative vision. Many small designers (like me) rely on pre-made components, so it's inevitable that designs will be similar, if not identical. I'm making an effort this year to hand fabricate more components in my designs. In the meantime, I still enjoy my charms and chains (that I assemble all by hand) and hope the edit of my collection speaks to my design aesthetic and is something that *you* all enjoy as well.

best,
Peggy