Articles and News
Brand News From Gumuchian, Christopher Designs, Imagine Bridal, Frederick Goldman, More May 02, 2018 (0 comments)
Gumuchian Bee Philanthropy Expands To Research Lab at University of Minnesota
New York, NY—Gumuchian’s commitment to saving honeybees has expanded, as a portion of proceeds from the brand’s “B” Collection (examples, left and right) will be donated to the Bee Research Lab at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul, MN campus. The Bee Research Lab joins Gumuchian’s other successful and rewarding partnerships with The Honeybee Conservancy in California and City Growers in Brooklyn.
Inspired by the work of Dr. Marla Spivak at the University of Minnesota (UMN) Bee Lab, the Bee Squad helps beekeepers and the community foster healthy bee populations and pollinator landscapes through education and hands-on mentorship. They also communicate the latest bee research to audiences that are passionate about helping bees. They have a multitude of programs to help bees by educating people. Currently, Bee Veterans, Bee Arts, and Pollinator Ambassadors, a project that provides pollinator outreach training to diverse groups ranging from high school students to adult Spanish-speaking immigrants, are part of the Bee Squad.
In other bee news, Gumuchian's recent donation to City Growers went to help fund its newest honeybee initiative: Brooklyn Bee Corps, a program where Brooklyn-based teens embarked on a summer of beekeeping and native plant restoration. The teens spent eight weeks immersed in five City Growers hives. Participants learned how to check on the bees, assess their health, find their queen, and all about why we keep bees, what's happening with the bees across the country and the world, and how honeybees play a critical role in our food system. Participants also engaged in native plant restoration on two sites in Brooklyn, learning about native bees and pollinators in the process.
Christopher Designs Appoints Leigh-Anne Brown Vice President, Sales, Mid/South
New York, NY—Christopher Designs announces the appointment of Leigh-Anne Brown to spearhead sales in the mid-southern United States. Brown is a Graduate Gemologist and has a proven track record as a top sales achiever in both the B2B and B2C sectors. She has worked in the fine jewelry category for 10 years.
In her position with Christopher Designs, Brown will be responsible for growing distribution and sales volume in her territory. “We are thrilled to add Leigh-Anne to our sales force,” says Christopher Slowinski, president and CEO. “Her knowledge of the product, as well as her experience and ability to tell the story of the brand will augment our sales force and help drive us to the next level.”
Brown’s experience spans both consumer-facing retail, working as a top-selling television host for The Liquidation Channel and The Jewellery Channel, as well as on the wholesale level, directing sales and transforming underperforming territories into lucrative revenue generators for a prominent manufacturer. Prior to the jewelry industry, Brown’s experience was in luxury travel, health and wellness. Brown holds a Masters of Educational Psychology from University of Texas at Austin, as well as a BA in Communications and Psychology from the University of Arizona.
“Having worked with several jewelry brands as well as a number of retailers, I’m excited to have the opportunity to impact sales at Christopher Designs,” added Brown. “My experience in selling a concept will definitely come in handy as I can explain to retailers how to differentiate Christopher Designs from competitors and remain profitable in a competitive marketplace.”
Imagine Bridal Introduces Silver/CZ Sample And Complete Sets For Easier Sales
Great Neck, NY—Imagine Bridal is introducing a new Hybrid Silver CZ sample program, titled “Imagination.” This new program—to be launched at JCK Luxury in Las Vegas (salon LUX-117)—will provide 60 styles in executed in silver with CZ stones, for retailers to display in Imagine Bridal Displays. Offering a silver/CZ try-on allows retailers to both minimize security concerns and stretch their inventory dollars as each customer’s choice of ring can then be ordered in 14k, 18k or platinum on Imagine’s easy-to-use B2B web ordering platform.
The company also will launch its Complete Engagement Ring Collection in Las Vegas. The collection will feature complete rings with round, oval, and pear shape center diamonds ranging from 0.25 ctw – 0.50 ctw and starting at $1,700 retail. The complete-ring ßoption will be offered in Imagine’s current 20 best-selling engagement rings.
“We’re constantly looking for ways we can help our retail partner achieve a higher turn on their bridal inventory. We believe both of these new collections will help close more engagement ring and anniversary band sales,’’ says Brian Hakimian, president of Imagine Bridal.
Taché USA Rebrands Back To ODI
New York, NY—Jacky Taché, CEO of Taché Diamonds, and Victor Weinman, CEO of Taché USA, announce the renaming of the Taché Group’s diamond and jewelry divisions into two distinct brands. Taché’s jewelry manufacturing and Jewelry sales division will revert to its original name, Original Designs, to better reflect its core capabilities of innovative products through design, while Taché will become the brand for its loose diamond operations.
The ownership of Original Designs (ODI) within the Taché Group of Companies will remain as it has been for the past 37 years. For information about Original Designs (ODI), contact Jeff Weinman, president, at (212) 852-4969, or email Jeff@Team-ODI.com.
Frederick Goldman Granted Three More Patents For TRITON Brand
Secaucus, NJ—Frederick Goldman, Inc. (FGI), announces three additional patents for its TRITON men’s contemporary metal jewelry brand. This brings the number of patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to Goldman to eight, all for TRITON.
The latest group of patents are focused on single and multi-layer nanotechnology coatings that deliver a white color and luster to any metal it is applied to, simulating the look of platinum group metals. Additionally, these coatings provide scratch resistance and increased hardness to the metal.
With these patents, FGI is the only company who can design and offer white tungsten carbide to the jewelry industry. FGI has also developed proprietary yellow, rose, and black colored coatings that enable the TRITON brand to design many unique multi-color rings with intricate design motifs.
“It is with these types of new technology that we are able to continue to lead the contemporary metals category, ensuring the TRITON brand is always on trend so we can be the best partner for our retailers now and in the future,” says company CEO Jonathan Goldman.
The total Goldman TRITON patent family consists of the following patents: Pat# 9,949,539, Pat# 9,949,538, Pat# 9,826,805, Pat# 9,629,425, Pat# 9,034,488, Pat# 8,956,510, Pat# 8,932,437, Pat# 8,927,10.