Thursday, January 29, 2009

So, I'm looking for an Angel Investor

I've been designing and making jewelry since I was a kid. About a year and a half ago I decided to really give it a go and find out whether this was something I could turn into a business. When you live, breathe and sleep jewelry it just seems to be the most natural thing in the world that you should make a living from it.
Since then, I've had the odd bit of industry recognition, and have worked on fashion shows and shoots, getting my designs out there into the fashion world and slowly but surely raising my profile from a nobody to a "soon to be somebody".
Runner-up Accessories Brand of the Year (beating Dolce & Gabbana) just months after I had made this decision did a lot for my confidence and my belief that I really can do it. Being approached by other designers whom I admire about working together, and getting lots of positive feedback about my work from various people has been great.
I think, with my most recent collection, Third Time's The Charm, that I've got it. I think I've cracked it. Eco-chic pieces that are striking to look at, easy to wear, and completely different to anything that's ever been done before.
People love them - both men, and women. Men who don't normally care about jewelry find these pieces 'mesmerising' (yes, direct quote!) and everyone tells me they would love to wear it.
To really get it out there, I need PR help. I need business help. I need lots of marketing assistance and an investor who sees the vision, who 'gets' the collection and can see all the possibilities - options that maybe I haven't even thought of yet...
I saw (well actually I heard - I don't watch much tv as I'm usually at my workbench or desk - but the other people in my house were watching it) a show on tv the other day about a successful businessman who travels around, gets to know people and after a week he decides exactly how much money he's going to give them to help them out with their business. That's what I want. Someone who can see what is needed in capital investment and who goes right ahead and invests in growing my business. Anyone who spends any time with me can see that I'm completely dedicated to Joolz. I spend almost every waking minute on it. I'm like a woman possessed.
How do I find an investor? This is my next challenge. And I will find one!




Raise money from Venture Capital and Angel Investors
VC & Angel Network



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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

How to choose jewellery to suit your face shape

I read this blog written by Alyce, who writes for 2threads.com - I thought it was so great that I've had to post it here for you guys!

When you go shopping at a jewellery store like Diva, you probably think the girls working there are there simply to look pretty and ring your items through the register. Turns out though, they are hiding a BIG secret from you. I know this because I am one. Luckily for you, I happen to double as a spy and can divulge this BIG secret if you promise to follow instructions accordingly. So here goes: when you walk into the store, we are totally analysing your face. We look at your chin, forehead, ears. Your eyes, nose and cheekbones. Your mouth, eyebrows and face shape. We look at your skin tone, and admittedly... your clothes.

We don't do this because we're all superficial like most assume, but because it helps us choose jewellery that suits you (except maybe the clothes part).

Here, I can release to you the finer details of our analysis, so you can use them yourself:

Firstly, divide your face into three sections. The top section is your forehead, which consists of the space between your hairline and eyebrows (duh), the middle is the eye and nose area, which is between your eyebrows and the tip of your nose and the bottom is the mouth and chin area, which is between the tip of your nose and chin. Now pick your face shape.

If you have an OVAL face shape

Well, well, well. You have an oval face do you? How convenient. You are considered the "perfect" face shape. When choosing accessories, stylists actually try to make customers look like you. Your forehead proportions are not too wide and the line from your forehead flows into lovely, chiselled cheekbones, then narrows ever so slightly into a beautiful rounded chin. You bitch.

Nevertheless, you shouldn't be denied of great accessories. Therefore, you get them all. Yes, you suit everything. I even researched this further to find something you would look ridiculous in. Other than clinging to the hope your complexion and hair/eye colour isn't right for all tones of jewellery, I'm still looking...

If you have a ROUND face shape

Congratulations, you have a very symmetrical face! If only you had this information when everyone was calling you moon-face on the monkey bars. Horizontally, you have more space between your eyes and ears,and vertically, your face is less curving towards your forehead and chin. You probably have those cute rounded cheeks Aunty Doris loves to pinch at Christmas time, which tends to round your chin out too. The goal is to stretch the face lengthways, to make it appear more narrow and minimise the fullness.

To do this, completely avoid anything with a circular shape, like hoops. Instead choose earrings that will make your face appear longer, like drop earrings in a stick-shape, spiral square or oval shape. In terms of necklaces, avoid round, short necklaces with heavy, spherical shapes, like wire pendants. There is just too mant circles going on is this picture. The length of long pearls and chains will also lengthen your face.

If you have a HEART face shape

You're pretty lucky to be in the Heart Club with Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie. Your face is wider at the forehead and the cheeks, and tapers into your sometimes pointed chin. Although I assume the club have weekly meetings discussing ways to disguise their very structured chins, you need not worry! It is actually responsible for the wide variety of earrings and necklaces you can experiment with.

Now that your round-faced girlfriends have tossed out all their circular earrings, wait until they go on holiday, then raid their garbage bins. Small, coin-sized drop earrings like Reese Witherspoon is sporting here are perfect. Oversized earrings in any shape make the bottom portion of your face appear wider, to balance with the top and middle portions. Chunky necklaces worn tight on the neck like chokers and stone jewellery also add weight to the chin area.

If you have a RECTANGLE/SQUARE face shape

Just when you though you left angles back at Year Seven Maths, they come screaming back. Some rectangles can be self-conscious of their prominent jawline and strong angles. Like Paris Hilton. It took me trawling through 19 pages of Google Images before I found a picture of her facing front-on. Or perhaps that's just some serious media training...

Because rectangular shapes are more about length and angles, and because the width of the forehead is the same as the width at the chin, it's important that jewellery does the reverse by softening the face while shortening and widening. Wider spirals, drops and oval shape earrings work well, as do soft, detailed ones like peacock feathers. Ladylike necklaces such as rope-lenth pearls, distract from the angles.

See, it's all very technical. So forget about taking your round, pale complexion upto the rack, choosing a pair of gold solid hoops and throwing them through your lobes before you can get to the counter. Just like your makeup, clothing and hair, accessories can completely alter how you look. And that my friend, is no secret.

Photos: http://badhairday.typepad.com/bad_hair_day/images/1_3.jpg

http://images.teamsugar.com/files/users/2/20652/44_2007/KirstenDunstRound.jpg

http://www.shapeyourstyle.com/sites/tarmstrong/_files/Image/eva-mendes-oval.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii44/samantha_bailey/paris-hilton.jpg


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Friday, January 23, 2009

The fastest shoot in the history of mankind!


Absolutely brilliant shoot yesterday afternoon.

Photographer Juan Carlos Calixto (Jaycee to us) is a wizard. We set it up, we shot it, it was done. Bang. Just like that!
So thrilled.

We worked on a 'gambling your heart' kind of theme. We were thinking about the idea that at this time of year, you send off a Valentine and its a bit of a gamble, you can't be sure you're going to get the result you hope for. But with a gift of a Queen of Hearts necklace, your luckiness is love is set to win big time!

Now its time to send it off into the world of media and see if anyone picks it up.

Fingys crossed!
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Nat Bass


I popped along to the Toff in Town last night to have a listen to Natalie Bassingthwaighte's new tunes. I was a fan of her Rogue Trader days, and was interested to see what the new songs would be like.
She started out with Feel the Flow, which was a good start to proceedings, followed it up with her current radio hit Alive which got people into the dancing mood, and then she really knocked my socks off. 1000 Stars is a great song! She followed that with a bunch more: Not For You, In His Eyes, Why Do I, Catch Me If You Can, Turn Out The Lights, and she finished off with Someday Soon.
I have to confess that I completely welled up during her performance of In His Eyes. Its a spectacular, beautiful and moving song she wrote to try and help her grandmother grieve the loss of her husband. I was really touched and really impressed. Her stage presence is great, she's such a professional performer, and when I met her afterwards, she was damn nice to boot!
I hear that she's performing down here in Melbourne for the rest of the week. My advice would be to get yourselves out there to see her. The tickets are cheap as chips and its money well-spent.

Check out Alive if you need any further convincing :)

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Monday, January 19, 2009

3TTC Lookbook ready!

Yip yip yippee!!!
THE LOOKBOOK IS READY TO LAUNCH!!!

So pleased to have finally got it finished. It was sent out to someone to final-draft-triple-double-check, we made some changes to it, and now its ready to float out there into the world.
Ahhh I feel so good about it. It feels like I have been working on this one for months and months. Which, in actual fact, I have been. This one has really taken a long time to put together.

And my blurb as follows:

Third Time’s The Charm
is the third collection from Melbourne design brand Joolz, and it’s simple as black and white to see why this collection is already causing an international buzz. Classically beautiful with contempory styling, compliments are all yours when you step out in these designs.
Gleaming pearls, the only organically sustainable gem on the planet, are teamed with glossy obsidian and onyx. They match prettily with hand-crafted vintage playing card butterflies that flutter perfectly on necklaces and bracelets in a display of delicate symmetry. Beautiful black recycled umbrella silk teamed with pearls becomes a stylish bowtie choker, and the Lady Luck necklace of vintage dice is perfect with hand-cut crystal.
Eye-catching elegance is the key, allowing you to be effortless in making your style statement.
Pre-ordering your preferred card symbol is available for this collection (customisation fee applies). Recycled Las Vegas casino cards & dice are available for customised pieces (from Bellagio, Casino Royale, and Caesars Palace). I also have Crown Casino (Melbourne) playing cards and dice. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing a specially personalised piece.
My vision for this collection was for something that was both grown-up but playful, strong on classic black and white colouring, with eco-friendly components. It has taken me quite a journey to bring this to you, from antique stores in Brisbane to the casinos of Las Vegas.
I absolutely love the results and I certainly hope you do too!

Well, geez I hope people love it enough to buy some pieces. Its been a long haul!
And our shoot:


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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Jam

I was given a box of almost 30kg of apricots - so I made jam today. Its been probably 15 years since I made jam and I had really forgotten how long that stuff takes. My whole damn day was taken over by sticky, sweet, cooking fruit.
I sensibly offloaded about two thirds of the apricots to various neighbours, and then filled the pot with fruit and sugar and a bit of water and away I went. It worked out OK, I had just about enough jars (15) in the end... man, the problem is, after making jam all day, I'm not sure I ever want to actually eat jam again. I'm not even that into jam normally. But when you've got that many apricots - what else are you gonna do with them? I was hoping to spend a bit of today on Joolz. Damn the jam! Ha. This could almost become a Dr Seuss poem.

I ate some ham
I made some jam
Some jam for Sam
Some jam for Tam
Too much jam said I to Sam
Too much jam said I to Tam
They ate the jam
Sam & Tam
And they ate the ham
I don't give a damn
This poem about jam
Is getting out of hand
And now it doesn't rhyme anymore
Damn the jam!
The end.
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Friday, January 16, 2009

The Lookbook

Ugh. Weary Dunlop.

Was up most of the night. But I’m nearly finished!

That lookbook has been bugging me for weeks and weeks.

Thank goodness Lucia is helping me out with constructive advice to make it look fancy-pants. Otherwise I would have sent it out weeks ago, looking tres ordinary. She is the best!

Here is the fabulous Lucia at work:




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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Wedding jewellery


So I've done a bit more wedding jewellery this month. I'm really looking forward to getting some photos of the brides in the whole outfit on their big day. I've done bridal jewellery before but none of the brides have ever followed up on their promise to forward me some pics afterwards. Fair enough, I do totally understand that I'm a long way down the list of priorities, but these two weddings coming up are going to be very cool ones so I really want some pics! One of the brides is going for a real 50s theme which is going to look awesome, and the other is dressing in a completely non-traditional colour with her groom in a complimentary-coloured safari suit. Hotness. Coolness. Whatever temperature it is, they are going to be great! (Yes, noted that I have an obsession with the temperature atm. That will happen to most sane beings in the month of January in Australia)

Now, a little music for our entertainment:

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

37° eeeeeeek!!!

37° Hells bells.
Its going to be 37° today! (37 °C = 98.6 °F) We slept with the glass door open (security screen locked of course!) last night so that the house could get some extra cooling before shutting everything up this morning to try and keep the cool in.
I can’t complain – it has been a very mild summer so far. Apparently we can expect 39° tomorrow (102.2 °F), and then its going to cool off on Thursday. This is what I love about living in Melbourne. Sure, it gets baking hot, but never for long! After growing up in an extremely hot climate (at the other end of Australia) I love the chance to cool off. Changeable weather is great. I find that all the other Queenslanders who have moved down here totally agree with me. We all love the way Melbourne weather is so unpredictable!
I’ve got some ideas to put together for Jen’s wedding jewellery before Thursday so I’d better get to that. New to this whole blogging thing, hopefully I will improve as it goes along :)

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