Report on Niessing comp/trip_______

***My lecturer requires a report on the overall trip to justify it to the College. Here was my take on the overall experience. ***

Niessing report 2011

Victoria Woods McMeekin

I found the Niessing competition 2011 an invaluable experience!!!!!!!!!!!!

The competition aspect gave me the opportunity to compete with my peers in a professional manner.  It also allowed me to use my organisational skills to complete the brief to its tight deadline. Also, I was able to experience presenting my work to a team of judges. This gave me a taster of what I will have to do to get my work into gallery’s and shops in the future. 

The trip took us out of our secure bubble that we are surrounded by in college. Having the insight from Carl Dau opened my eyes to the world of manufacturing jewellery. The contrast of Carl’s work to Karin Seufert’s work gave me the stark realization between the difference of making money from jewellery or having it as a bonus to your steady wage.

i.e.

                          

Carl Dau = Having the design ideas and getting people to manufacture them quickly at high volume to keep low cost. With a small in house team putting them together to orders. His designs are timeless, classic and appeal to the elite, thus providing Carl with a steady income to live comfortably on.

Whereas….

                          

Karin Seufert = “Labour of love” design/methods. Karin’s designs are more suited to art lovers looking for an investment in a piece of history. The time it takes to make Karins pieces and her incredibly niche market means that Karin must charge high prices within a gallery setting. Therefore Karin makes a living from her 9-5 job and supplements her wage with her jewellery.

Conclusion

I have learned how to make money from my jewellery designs. I now need to decide wither I want to be a manufacturer or gallery jeweller. Only time will tell as I progress through Art School, but my designs will  be influenced by the knowledge I have gained from the Niessing competition. This is my career and not a hobby. I want to make money from it, and now I have the know how to achieve my goals!

VWM