Design Art and Photography » 2008 » December

LupRocks.com, Nolcha partner up

December 23, 2008

New York--LupRocks.com, a jewelry-product-placement Web site, is joining forces with NolchaNetwork.com, a multi-faceted network focused on the emerging and independent fashion market.

The move is designed to provide increased opportunities for members of both sites.

"Our member benefits include an online career-networking community, a fashion business publication and key events during [New York] and London Fashion Weeks that provide emerging fashion designers exposure to press, buyers and industry figures. LupRocks.com members will now have access to these resources," Nolcha founder Kerry Bannigan said in a press release issued on Dec. 15. "Our membership base will find a tremendous benefit in taking advantage of the product-placement opportunities available through LupRocks.com."

Jessica Cohen, president and founder of LupRocks.com parent company Lup, said Nolcha is a perfect fit for her company.

"While we have access to unprecedented product-placement opportunities, many of our members crave a continuing-education resource as well as access to key players on the business side of the fashion and accessories industries; areas in which Nolcha excels," Cohen said.

Members of NolchaNetwork.com who sign up for LupRocks.com's subscription-based product-placement service will receive a membership discount and frequent updates on product-placement opportunities available through the site.

Nolcha will allow LupRocks.com members access to its members-only network and will give them the "right of first refusal" on various event opportunities, such as the mainstay Fashion Week events.

Other advantages of the LupRocks.com/NolchaNetwork.com partnership will develop moving forward, the press release said.

NolchaNetwork.com is a global, fashion-industry career network bringing business to the forefront of the emerging and independent fashion market. Nolcha events for emerging fashion designers have been featured in the BBC, Drapers, Forbes, the New York Post and its Page Six magazine, The Guardian, OK!, Sportswear International, The Wall Street Journal and many others.

LupRocks.com is a membership-based, online sourcebook connecting designers of fine jewelry, accessories, apparel, beauty and housewares directly with costume designers, stylists, set designers and editors. LupRocks.com has worked with various entertainment productions, such as the films No Reservations, The Nanny Diaries and The Women, as well as fashion-centric television shows such as Cashmere Mafia, Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty. The site has also worked with numerous national and regional print publications.

Good Morning Kolkata

"I got up early that day to go the flower market. Loved the light… outside the market". Kolkata- Howrah Bridge. Taken by Eli Shams

Source: planetearthdailyphoto.blogspot.com

Silver’s back and so is its marketing apparatus

Leslie Greene's "Blisse" cuff with 0.40 carats of diamonds and antiqued texture; suggested retail price is $1,895.

New York--For 2009, silver is set to shine--and while the comparatively high prices of gold and platinum have given it a boost, the white metal's heat goes beyond dollars.

A new Silver Marketing Initiative (SMI) that officially kicked off on Dec. 3 with a trade and consumer media launch event in New York City has fueled much of the optimism. Not since 2001 has there been a structured marketing effort in place for sterling silver jewelry, says Michael DiRienzo, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Silver Institute.

"We had been marketing sterling silver jewelry to the public between 1988 through 2001 under a division, Silver Trust International," DiRienzo says. "Then, for many reasons, it was disbanded. But now, we're restarting those marketing efforts and taking a leadership role in promoting silver jewelry in the hope of achieving greater market penetration and silver demand."

Key components of that strategy are the creation of a new, soon-to-be-launched silver jewelry consumer Web site, SavorSilver.com, along with a new logo for the metal.

"This is not a quality mark but, instead, more a mark to instantly distinguish sterling silver," says Michael Barlerin, president of New York-based Michael Barlerin Associates, the consultant organization for the initiative's development and rollout. "The words themselves, Savor Silver, are a brand communication line that will be used not only as the Web site name but also in print and online media for the campaign."

Barlerin's lengthy jewelry resume includes 15 years at the World Gold Council, where he was chief executive officer for the Americas.

That experience was instrumental in choosing the initial 10 designers to be featured on the forthcoming consumer Web site, which, synergistically, will include links to the respective designers' individual sites. SavorSilver.com will not itself include e-commerce for its debut, but consumers who click on the designers' individual Web sites can either buy directly or find a retailer who sells the brand.

The first phase of designers on the site, 10 in all, is a mix of established names and emerging jewelry artists. They are: Elle, Lagos, Leslie Greene, Paz Collective, Robert Lee Morris, Robin Rotenier, Scott Kay, Slane and Slane, Thistle and Bee, and Zina.

Steve Lagos, who launched Philadelphia design company Lagos in 1977, is certainly one of the established names. In the early 1980s, Lagos and about a half-dozen others became innovators in designer sterling silver jewelry, creating a category that some now call "bridge." Despite his historical success in silver and his own effective Web site, Lagos joined the Savor Silver site as well.

"People have been pounding the gold and platinum drums for years, so it's high time to pound the drum for silver," he says. "Remember, this is a precious metal--it's not copper. We sell silver to some of the wealthiest people in the country. So retailers have to realize that if they don't carry high-quality sterling silver jewelry--whether we're in difficult economic times or not--their customer will go elsewhere to buy good silver."

And exactly who is buying?

"Obviously, the silver on the new site will appeal to younger, under 40, customers, but mainly because they're the ones more apt to go online to buy their jewelry," says Andrew Goldstein, owner and vice president of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Zina, specialists in silver for 25 years. The Zina pieces that appear on SavorSilver.com will retail between $80 and $500, and consumers will be able to buy directly from the designer's site, ZinaBeverlyHills.com.

For Great Neck, N.Y.-based designer Leslie Greene, $700 is about the average retail price of a sterling silver piece, while the 18-karat gold jewelry that she is known for averages about $2,800. Like Goldstein, Greene believes that her silver appeals more to a younger customer than does her classic 18-karat collection. That said, Greene admittedly does make some edgier designs in silver, which will usually appeal to a younger audience.

So it seems the consumer is younger and most likely, less conservative, which begs the question: Once the consumer site is up and running and the rest of the initiative is underway, will more conservative areas of the country begin to increase their silver inventory? Greene says they already have.

"Our retailers know their customers and they are able to explain silver's value to them," she says.

"So much of silver's potential is about value," says New York City-based designer Robin Rotenier, whose fashion-forward design company was founded in 1993. Rotenier sees the site as achieving three goals: underscoring to consumers that silver (like gold, platinum and palladium) is one of the noble metals; educating consumers about the properties specific to silver and, thus, generally erasing a number of concerns and misconceptions; and encouraging other jewelry designers to believe in silver and push the creative envelope, perhaps making more one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces.

Even if more designers don't do one-offs in silver, informal polling shows that economic conditions will prompt many more--especially silver newcomers who usually choose high-karat metals (18-karat and above) as their medium--to use winter shows to premiere collections in sterling.

Proposals for more qualitative trade research are, in fact, being reviewed and discussed as part of "phase two" of the SMI, Barlerin says. At this time, The Silver Institute is also considering ideas on industry-directed advertorials in selected trade media as well as consumer co-op advertising programs for the second quarter of 2009. Sometime before that, however, as the final step in SMI's "phase one," it will launch a quarterly industry-focused electronic newsletter, Barlerin says.

Top trends in designer silver

--Oxidized and blackened finishes
--Extra-wide cuffs
--Diamond-accented anything
--Oversized pendants on leather or silk cords
--Feminine feeling overall, in themes and ornamentation

Editor's note: This story first appeared in the December 2008 print edition of National Jeweler.

Rebecca announces 325% increase in ’08 sales

Pop star Rihanna sported Rebecca's "Melrose" bracelet and earrings throughout the music video for her latest single, "Rehab," also featuring Justin Timberlake.

New York--Amid a surfeit of news about struggling sales growth in the luxury market, success stories these days are standing out more than ever, which is exactly the case with jewelry brand Rebecca.

Rebecca distributor Testi USA announced that the brand will finish the 2008 year with a 325 percent increase in sales over 2007--quite a feat given the year's difficult economic conditions.

Rebecca also increased its sales force and internal organization in 2008, and is expanding its U.S. distribution operations in Santa Monica, Calif., to a new location that will be seven times the current space. The new location will be announced in the first quarter of 2009.

"This is such an exciting time for Rebecca," U.S. brand President Agostino Magni said in a media release. "Our stainless and gold-plated bronze jewelry is so innovative and bold that celebrities are going crazy for it, and retailers and their customers see it as a new material that is affordable but offers a great look--always fresh, vibrant and Italian."

The Rebecca line can be found in department stores such as Bloomingdales and Fred Segal, as well as in independent retail doors, including Mednikow in Memphis, Tenn., Polacheck's Jewelers in Los Angeles, James and Sons in Chicago, Tapper's Diamonds and Fine Jewelry in Detroit, King Jewelers in Miami, and Orr's Jewelers in Pittsburgh.

The brand is currently distributed in more than 30 countries and counts a total of 14 freestanding Rebecca stores worldwide, including a U.S. location in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Pentax limited edition SLR camera

Pentax K-m limited edition SLR camera kit : A Unique, Limited-Edition White-Color Package Combining an Easy-to-Operate, Entry-Class Digital SLR Camera and Zoom Lens. Hoya Corporation Pentax Imaging Systems Division is pleased to announce the launch of the PENTAX K-m white Lens Kit. Available in a limited quantity, this unique kit includes the popular PENTAX K-m digital SLR camera body and an interchangeable zoom lens, both finished in a matching brilliant white color. Launched in October 2008 as an entry-class model aimed at new digital SLR photographers, the PENTAX K-m offers simple, user-friendly operation and an easy-to-maneuver compact, lightweight body.
PENTAX K-m white main features
Sparkling, eye-catching white-colored body and lens. In this unique, limited-edition kit, both the PENTAX K-m camera body and the zoom lens are finished in a brilliant white color. Offering a new color choice, as well as the fun of digital SLR photography, this kit should appeal to many photographers around the globe.

Compact, lightweight camera body
Despite the incorporation of a large-sized image sensor (23.5mm by 15.7mm), the PENTAX K-m white offers a compact, lightweight body to assure remarkable portability and maneuverability. This was made possible by the development of a compact, lightweight and high-rigidity stainless-steel chassis, the downsizing of the Shake Reduction mechanism and circuit boards, the employment of latest high-density packaging technologies assuring most efficient positioning and layout of various parts, and the repositioning of the battery compartment. The camera grip has also been redesigned to assure firm, comfortable hold of the camera body.

Simplified operation system for easy camera handling
The PENTAX K-m white features a newly designed control system, which positions most of buttons and levers on the cameraвЂ™s grip side, making it easier for first-time digital SLR users stepping up from their compact models to operate the camera. WhatвЂ™s more, the functions of each button or lever are instantly displayed on the cameraвЂ™s LCD monitor with a single press of the help button to facilitate camera operation - especially for those who are unfamiliar with digital SLR cameras.

PENTAX Shake Reduction mechanism
The PENTAX K-m white comes equipped with the PENTAX-developed SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism, which effectively reduces camera shake for sharp, blur-free images even under demanding shooting conditions - such as when using a telephoto lens, shooting in the dark or at night without supplementary flash illumination, or using extended exposures for sunset scenes. This innovative SR mechanism shifts the position of the image sensor vertically and horizontally at high speed using magnetic force, while adjusting the shifting speed in proportion to the amount of camera shake detected by a built-in sensor. It offers an outstanding compensation effect - up to the equivalent of approximately four shutter steps. As a result, it does not require special anti-shake lenses, and can be used with almost all existing PENTAX interchangeable lenses.

Pentax Dust Removal system
The PENTAX K-m white features the user-friendly DR (Dust Removal) system to prevent dust from appearing on captured images. Applied to the CCD image sensor surface (or low-pass filter) through the vapor deposition process of a fluorine compound, the PENTAX-original SP (Super Protect) coating effectively removes dust and stains from the surface. In the next step, dust that still remains on the surface will be shaken off when the SR system shifts the image sensor at high speed. Finally, the dust that is shaken off the image sensor will fall onto an adhesive sheet positioned at the bottom of the SR unit, eliminating any possibility of it returning to the image sensor surface. This DR system even offers a Dust Alert function, which allows the user to confirm the dust-adhesion status of the CCD in advance.

Auto Picture mode
The PENTAX-developed Auto Picture mode is programmed to automatically select the most appropriate shooting mode - from such choices as Portrait, Landscape and Macro - for a given subject. With the PENTAX K-m white, this user-friendly mode is further upgraded, with automatic detection of situations requiring the Night Scene Portrait mode. Since all camera settings, including aperture, shutter speed, white balance, saturation, contrast and sharpness, are automatically adjusted by the camera for optimum results, the user can concentrate on image composition and shutter opportunity.

Pentax limited edition camera
The PENTAX K-m white limited edition SLR camera combines a large, high-performance CCD image sensor (23.5mm by 15.7mm) with the sophisticated PRIME (PENTAX Real Image Engine) as its imaging engine. With its approximately 10.2 effective megapixels, it produces beautiful, fine-detailed images with subtle gradations and delicate texture description. It also features a Custom Image function, which offers a choice of six finishing touches to help the user create intended images. The PENTAX K-m white lets the user keep shooting images at the speed of approximately 3.5 frames per second (in the JPEG recording format), allowing the user to capture a sequence of a fast-moving subject with great ease.

Pentax Auto Focus System
The PENTAX K-m white incorporates a five-point wide-area AF system (SAFOX VIII with five cross-type sensors) to assure dependable, high-precision autofocusing. Using the five sensors positioned in a cross pattern over the image field (one in the middle, two at sides, and two at top and bottom), this system automatically and unfailingly selects the optimum sensor for a given subject. It also allows the user to fix the AF detection point at the middle sensor. Thanks to a thorough review of the AF algorithm, this AF system also offers improved autofocusing speed under poor-lighting conditions, in which conventional AF systems take longer to focus on the subject.

Auto sensitivity control up to ISO 3200
The PENTAX K-m whiteвЂ™s auto sensitivity control function automatically sets the optimum sensitivity between ISO 100 and ISO 3200, based on such data as the subjectвЂ™s brightness level and the lensвЂ™ focal length. Since this function allows the user to take advantage of faster shutter speeds in poor lighting situations (such as indoor sports events and nighttime scenes), it helps the photographer to effectively reduce camera shake and subject shake and prevent blurred images.

Pentax dynamic-range expansion function
The PENTAX K-m whiteвЂ™s dynamic-range expansion function allows the user to expand a dynamic range (or a range of gradation reproduction) to minimize white-washed areas in the image. On the other hand, its shadow compensation function minimizes pitch-black areas lacking details. Combined, they help the user to produce beautiful, rich-gradation images when shooting high-contrast subjects.

PENTAX K-m white camera LCD monitor
The PENTAX K-m white limited edition camera features a large 2.7-inch color LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 dots on its back panel. This monitorвЂ™s wide-view design allows the photographer to check the on-screen image from approximately 170 degrees both vertically and horizontally. It even offers digital zooming of playback images up to 16 times for easy confirmation of the imageвЂ™s focusing status and details.

Pentax K-m viewfinder
Thanks to a combination of a lightweight penta-mirror prism, a PENTAX-original finder optics and the acclaimed Natural-Bright-Matte focusing screen, the PENTAX K-m whiteвЂ™s viewfinder delivers a large, bright subject image with an approximately 96-percent field of view and an approximately 0.85-times magnification. The PENTAX K-m whiteвЂ™s built-in digital filters let the user effortlessly add some creative and artistic touches to recorded images - without the use of a Personal Computer. The user can select one of 14 different digital filters - including the new Toy Camera and Retro filters - to create a desired visual effect.

Source: www.letsgodigital.org

Martin Flyer names design contest winners

The winning design, by Pratt Institute student Julia Seltzer, in Martin Flyer's FlyerFit Design Contest.

New York--Fine-jewelry manufacturer Martin Flyer has named Julia Seltzer as the first-place winner in the company's FlyerFit Design Contest, a student design competition held in conjunction with the Pratt Institute.

Seltzer's design will be produced and manufactured by Martin Flyer and will be included as part of the FlyerFit collection of bridal jewelry. In addition, the design will be featured in select Martin Flyer marketing materials and displayed prominently at the Winter 2009 Centurion show in Tucson, Ariz.

Seltzer was one of four finalists selected by Martin Flyer, and then a panel of industry experts, including retailers, consumer and trade magazine editors, and representatives from Platinum Guild International, judged the designs based upon manufacturing ability, originality and sales potential.

Each student was asked to create an original design in platinum that fit with one of Martin Flyer's "Five Classifications of Bridal": solitaires, three-stone rings, channel, shared prong and micro pave.

Jae Eun Choi was named second-place winner, with Leslie Boyd in third place and Nicole Kim receiving honorable mention.

Software Review: Adobe Master Collection – Premiere Pro CS4 from Adobe Systems

This is the third of a series of reviews that will cover what is contained in the Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4) Master Collection. When Adobe released CS4 this fall, they not only released single version products, but also six separate suites of products. They are Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium, and Master Collection. You can go online to compare what is contained in each version. The goal of this series it to define what each product does and provide information of what the new version brings to the table.

What do you need to run Adobe Premiere Pro CS4? On a PC you need a 2GHz or faster processor, Windows XP SP2 or Vista; on Mac, PowerPC G4 or G5 or multicore Intel processor, Mac OS X v10.4.11 – 10.5.4 (Leopard), 512MB RAM, 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card, 10GB hard drive space for installation and DVD-ROM Drive.

Adobe Premiere Pro is a real-time, timeline-based video editing software application. It has gained acceptance within the film and video industry and has been used in part in such films as Dust to Glory by Dana Brown and Superman Returns for the video capture process and so, as the name implies, it is a professional-level editing package.

Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 attempts to reduce the complex process that is video production. It does this by including copies of the products Adobe OnLocation CS4 and Adobe Encore CS4 to try to make each step of the video production more efficient and giving you more time to work your story.

So what is new with Premiere Pro CS4?

• End-to-End metadata workflow – will let you add metadata to clips both on set with Adobe OnLocation, and while editing via Premiere. This will give your workflow greater project intelligence as you can use the new speech recognition technology to create text-based metadata that you can use to organize your assets.

• Speech Search – this technology offers you the ability to turn the spoken dialog in your clips into text-based metadata which will make your video searchable. No more hand entering key words. Now through voice analysis, keywords can be automatically added, allowing you jump directly to the frame that you are after.

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Iconic coffee cup perks up Couture design contest

December 12, 2008

This iconic coffee cup, often clutched by New York City residents on the go, is the inspiration for a new Couture design contest.

New York--Organizers of the Couture Club Pavilion at the upcoming JA New York Winter Show have invited all exhibiting members to put on their creative hats in a new design challenge: re-imagining the iconic New York Greek coffee cup as a piece of wearable art.

New Yorkers use and throw away as many as 15 million of the coffee cups in a single month, and with that idea in mind, the contest is designed to inspire the industry to reduce, reuse and recycle, all while paying homage to New York--America's style capital.

Designers participating in the contest, dubbed the "Couture-NY Designer Challenge," must use a portion or an entire coffee cup in their piece of wearable art. In addition, the piece should include traditional metalsmithing materials of their choosing, such as gold, diamonds or platinum.

Among the contestants are designers Gurhan, Shaesby, Chad Allison and Heather Moore.

Applications are due Dec. 24, with voting to begin online on Jan. 5. All final designs will be on display in the Couture Club Pavilion throughout the JA New York Winter Show, with one grand-prize winner and two runner-ups to be announced at a media reception for editors, stylists and costume designers on Monday, Jan. 19.

For more information about the contest, e-mail Michelle Orman at couture@luprocks.com.For details on Couture, visit Couture09.com or JA-NewYork.com.

‘Expressions’ gives early glimpse of Vicenza

Textured metal, rose gold and the use of negative space, all of which are seen in these pieces by Vendorafa, are trends in the Gold Expressions Collection.

New York--The Italian jewelry presented each January in Vicenza is considered a prologue to the design story that will play out over the course of the year for the whole industry.

So the intricately textured pendants, heavy-on-the-metal cocktail rings and vibrant infusion of rose gold and colored-gemstone pieces that debuted on Monday as part of the "Gold Expressions" Italian jewelry preview event at the American Airlines Theater in New York received extra scrutiny from the editors and industry members in attendance.

Hosted by the World Gold Council (WGC), the Vicenza Fair and AngloGold Ashanti, the world's second largest gold mining company, the event is now in its sixth year.

The pieces in this year's collection, culled from 48 Italian manufacturers, are not just based upon the whimsy of designers, but are the fruits of a research-based product development designed to both promote the "Made in Italy" brand and to catch the fancies of consumers worldwide.

The process began in April when the WGC shared its global consumer research with the Italian design community at an industry seminar in Vicenza. Additional trend forecasting information from the Worth Global Style Network and a presentation by designer Beatriz Biagi on how to apply trend and research information to new product design lent more insight to Italian designers.

"The continuing success of the [Gold Expressions] collections and their nationwide distribution through wholesale partner Richline Group demonstrates the effectiveness of this unique research-based approach to product development," WGC U.S. Managing Director John Calnon said in a media release.

Key trends this year include the use of textured gold, negative space, cutouts, filigree, rose gold, colored gemstones and enamel. Geometric shapes, including circles, squares, discs and spheres, abounded in the Gold Expressions collection, as did a range of links in varied and unusual shapes.

The Richline Group, now America's largest gold jewelry supplier, has acquired the exclusive distribution rights for the Gold Expressions designs from a large majority of the participants in the collection. It plans to merchandise the Gold Expressions Collection tagline "Italian Passion by Design."

The collection will launch at the VicenzaOro First show, to be held from Jan. 11-18 in Vicenza, Italy, and will go on an international tour that includes stops in the Far East, India, the Middle East, Russia and, finally, back in the United States for the Las Vegas shows in late May.

SDHC memory cards from TDK

SDHC flash memory cards : Just in time for capturing holiday videos and photos, Imation, exclusive licensee of the "TDK" brand, announced the availability of secure digital high capacity (SDHC) memory cards. Designed to exceed the performance and capacity needs of video, photo and audio enthusiasts, TDK SDHC memory cards support high-definition (HD) recording with the fastest read/write speeds available and up to 16GB of storage or 240 minutes of recording time. These SDHC Memory Cards join the growing family of TDK Life on Record audio and video products. TDK Life on Record SDHC Memory Cards are available now with 8GB and 16GB capacities at select retailers for suggested retail prices of $89.99 and $149.99, respectively.

SDHC memory cards
Ideal for high-definition (HD) camcorders, as well as digital cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players, PDAs and more, TDK Life on Record SDHC memory cards store and save high-quality video files. With speeds of 6MB per second, discerning memory keepers can quickly view and copy large video or photo files from a camera to a Personal Computer using these Class 6 memory cards. Available with 8GB or 16GB of capacity, you can capture and securely store up to four hours of HD video on a single card.

TDK flash memory cards
"TDK Life on Record offers discerning memory keepers a premium choice for saving digital memories," said Jean-Paul Eekhout, TDK Life on Record global brand director, Imation Corp. "With the industry's fastest speeds and largest capacities, consumers can feel confident when using our SDHC memory cards for storing family videos in crisp high definition this holiday season and beyond, as well as photos and favorite music."

Source: www.letsgodigital.org