GZ Art+Design 2004 Spots

I.H.M. 2004 with Shining Jewels

The International Crafts Fair in Munich (March, 4 to 10, 2004) will focus this year on jewelry in particular. As the organizer of the Herbert Hoffmann Prize for exemplary work in contemporary jewelry production, the Crafts Fair Association will announce the winners on March 6. The jewelry show has been a forum and focus for contemporary jewelry manufacturers since 1972. This, year 330 goldsmiths from 28 countries applied to take part in the competition at the I.H.M. Special Jewelry Show 2004. A new juror each year uses his or her own appraisal of jewelry to make the selection. In 2004, the selection was made by the goldsmith Professor Herrmann Jünger from Pöring by Munich. From 2,500 photographs, he selected 62 goldsmiths from 21 countries. The I.M.H. in Munich will feature work by renowned goldsmiths such as Thomas Gentille from New York, Stefano Marchetti and Graziano Visintin from Padua and Professor Jens Rüdiger Lorenzen from the Academy of Design in Pforzheim. 250 goldsmiths are expected to attend the goldsmiths convention on March 6 during the trade fair. The group Jewels of Origin is exhibiting for the first time this year. It includes selected exhibitors of wearable jewelry that unite crafts and artistic skills. The exhibition will feature high quality small series and individually designed unique pieces, made of traditional precious metals or experimental materials. Most exhibitors are members of the Society for the Art of Goldwork, which will also be on site in Munich. www.ghm.de * kph

European Academy for Gold and Silversmiths

The Ahlen Education Center, Germany, has been known by its additional title "European Academy" of the Ahlen Gold and Silversmith College since April 2003. In the 30 years of its existence, over 8,300 gold and silversmiths have learned old and new techniques in the seminars offered in the Education Center in Ahlen. People of many different nationalities attend the seminars: in addition to a large number of Germans, there were also numerous participants form other European countries such as Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, Greece, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Hungary. There were even students from countries such as Australia, Namibia or Chile. Hardly any other European institution offers such a comprehensive, compressed further education program for gold and silversmiths as the European Academy in Ahlen. Indeed, it intends to advertise and network more aggressively in order to attract more prospective students from abroad. The teaching courses under international lecturers - all of whom are experts in their own fields - offer excellent support in the subject matter and for individual students. Staff at the Academy organize accommodation for the foreign students. More information on the program is available under www.goldschmiede-fz-ahlen.de * cete

Perfectly Coordinated Fashion and Jewelry

Sun, water, beach - the Caribbean island St. Thomas not only inspired the designers of the current Marc O'Polo Campus collection to create as magnificently colorful and chic feminine fashion collection, but also the matching jewelry. The Marc O'Polo Silver & Gold Campus Fashion line. Bracelets in marine look, silver pendants with the St. Thomas zip code, sailing knots in various designs or ankle chains with small starfish and palm pendants create a real island feeling. But not only the nautical forms are reminiscent of yacht marinas and sailing trips, the materilas also reflect the typical holiday mood of the Campus collection. Sandy and beaten surfaces with a slight used character seem high-quality, while colorful cotton string and high-quality sailing yarn in the Campus colors turquoise, orange and yellow emphasize the sporting character of the jewelry line in combination with silver pendants. www.marc-o-polo.com * cete

Annual International Graduation Show 2004

The design jewelry at the Midora 2003, which was featured in the special show at the fair and the recently created discussion forum, set striking and individual standards. In the special show, the Annual International Graduation Show, the Dutch gallery-owner Marie-José van den Hout from Nijmegen presented for the 3rd time the graduation pieces by graduates from 24 European design centers. 12 of the young designers were present in Leipzig to present their jewelry and to discuss which considerations were important to them in their design. Their jewelry objects ranged from traditional forms such as copper, pipe and filigree goldsmith techniques through to extravagant exhibits such as small, silver crowns on marzipan, wool socks with lead or an art object in the form of prepared peewit. In encouraging the presence of young designers in Leipzig, the renowned curator and gallery owner van den Hout wishes to make contemporary jewelry accessible to a large audience of specialists. Her motive: "Unfortunately, jewelry is not sufficiently recognized as art in modern society. In most cases, it is equated with design, although there are worlds dividing these two terms." * kph

Gemstones as Cultural Products

The region around Idar-Oberstein has been synonymous with gemstone competence for centuries. The annual "Idar OberSteiner From Diskurs", which takes place each May, is intended to lend strong emphasis to the existing strengths of the city and to help the local companies face up to the challenges of the future. The event offers workshops for gemstone design, jewelry design with a main focus on using gemstones and design management as a compact introduction into the topic of marketing, specially designed for creative people. Internationally renowned speakers have been booked for the opening event from May 10 to 15, 2004: Pavel Opocensky from Prague, Claudia Adam from Stipshausen, Norman Weber from Munich and Georg Galambfalvy from Vienna. Guided tours of companies and fireplace discussions with gemstone experts, which will be open to the public, round off the event. The program will also feature a guided tour through the Bengel Foundation with Dr. Christianne Weber Stöber from the Society for the Art of Goldwork in Hanau. The competent guidance of Prof. Theo Smeets from the Idar Oberstein Polytechnic College will provide participants with additional insight into the work of the young experts in the industry. The gala end to the intensive week on the topic of "Gemstones as Cultural Products" is the opening of the exhibition "Fragilitas Gradatim" in the German Gemstone Museum, which will present new work made of nephrite by Pavel Opocensky. www.io-leuchtet.idar-oberstein.de and www.theosmeets.com/formdiskurs * cete

Jewelry Relations Group Founded

The most important points will be set for the future of the German jewelry industry during the inhorgenta europe (February 20 to 23, 2004). The Jewelry Relations Group (JRG) will present its joint initiative for the promotions of jewelry. For the first time ever, a platform has been created with all the German associations, organizations and institutions that are relevant to the industry, which targets large swathes of consumers in order to lend jewelry greater significance in consumer wishes. The joint advertising will be financed by paying to JRG 1% of the value of goods invoiced by manufacturers or wholesalers to retail trade. * kph

Design Prize for Glass Enamel

More than 150 participants from 14 countries applied to the material competition "Materiallica Design Award", organized for the first time in summer 2003 by the iF - International Forum Design, Hanover, - under the patronage of the Munich Trade Fair. The aim of the contest is to emphasize the significance of material in product development, as it is mainly the material that determines the sensuous-emotional perception and functional and aesthetic qualities of a product. The Gruppe RE from Cologne also, who developed a fluorescent glass, is among the 44 prize winners. The technical innovation combines for the first time fluorescent pigments in the form of glass enamel beneath a glass surface. The ceramic coating stores daylight and synthetic light and emits it as a green glow during the night. Unlike paint coatings, glass enamel has a far longer life expectancy. The prize winning material with its particular adhesive properties and special effects could find interesting design uses in the design of jewelry and watches. www.gruppe-re.de * cete

Plastic meets Art

N:Joi, the young jewelry brand that creates surprisingly new jewelry lines in a refreshing combination of plastic, silver and Swarovski crystals has recruited two renowned artists for cooperation. The two internationally successful artists and product designers Leslie G. Hunt (Los Angeles, USA) and Finn Stone (London, UK) are designing various items of jewelry exclusively for the new "N:JOI meets Artist Collection". Leslie G. Hunt made a name for himself as an artist for etchings and unique pieces and created special editions for renowned firms such as American Express, Braun, Daimler Benz, Pepsi Cola and Rosenthal studio-line. His current technique - acryl on paper or canvas - is excellently suited to N:JOI. Finn Stone is a product designer and has already created furniture and objects for many renowned firms such as Lipton Tea, Harvey Nichols London, Shell, Paul Smith, Conran Shop and Harrods. He focuses on the use of synthetic resin and a glitz material he created himself, with which he creates time and again entirely new and surprising effects in his furniture and objects. The new works of art will be on show during the Munich inhorgenta from February 20 to 23, 2004, along with other product innovations such as the easily combinable "Clips" or the expansive "Sugar Squares". www.njoi.de * cete

"Jewellery Journey" tours through the Word

Inspired by traveling souvenirs, the three former students at Wismar College, Katrin Arp, Britta Huntemann and Stefanie Mayer, have started to make the topic of "journey" to the main basis of their jewelry creation. They managed to encourage 17 jewelry designers from Finland, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Spain, Korea and South Africa to participate in their project "Jewellery Journey". This yielded over 30 pieces of very different styles. The individuality of the thoughts and work of each designer is reflected in the different approaches to the topic of "journey". Inspiration was drawn from all areas, even abstract topics such as global networks, and not just materials a traveler may handle every day such as post cards, photographs or travel guides. The website www.jewelleryjourney.de was use as mutual base to network ideas during the work on the project and the duration of the jewelry tour around the world. The jewelry tour started in Wismar in December 2003 and will pass through Pforzheim, Germany, and Johannesburg, South Africa, before coming to an end in Seoul, South Korea, in April 2004. www.jewelleryjourney.de * cete

German Jewelry and Gemstone Prize Idar-Oberstein 2003

The main focus of the invitation to the 34th German Jewelry and Gemstone Prize Idar-Oberstein 2003 was gemstone design. The competition admitted unset gemstones, gemstones in jewelry (using only precious metals), gemstone objects and gemstone sculptures. It was not permitted to use synthetic materials. A high-class, international jury awarded first prize to Jürgen Thom from Hettenrodt for his gemstone object made of orthoclase and a nylon thread with yellow gold. The jurors were impressed by the perfect crafts skill. If the object is placed vertically on the smallest disc, it is clear that the lens-shaped discs stacked on top keep their balance. If the object is suspended horizontally in the nylon thread and adjusted by turning the stone, it also retains its balance and appears to hover. Jörg Stoffel form Stipshausen received second prize for his gemstone objects made of mountain crystal. Katja Knebel from Mendig came in third with her dish made of mountain crystal. In the 15th German Young Designer's Competition for Gemstone and Jewelry Design, which had the topic Play of Forces, Eva Röhrig from Sensweiler won first prize with her pendant jewelry, consisting of silver, mountain crystal and glass beads. The 2nd prize went to Stefanie Hensle from Karlsruhe, while Lavinia Charareh from Idar-Oberstein came in third. * kph

Ussifa Designer Prize 2004

This year's Ussifa designer prize was selected from approximately 130 exhibits at the trade fair Ussifa in Hamburg (September 12 to 14, 2003). Specialist visitors were invited to select their favorite from the jewelry exhibited by students at the Wismar Academy. Bettina Bauer came in lengths ahead of Yvonne Fischer (2nd place) and Katrin Arp (3rd place). Bettina Bauer therefore won first place for the second year running. www.messe-hamburg-schnelsen.de *kph

German Stainless Steel in Jewelry in New York

As one of the pioneers in stainless steel, Florian Metz created the collection "mono" for the Lifestyle Group, which is based near Munich (Germany), 10 years ago. Since then, he has been in the grip of passion to create constantly new jewelry design with this difficult material with its cool character. Florian Metz has since grouped a team of industrial designers around himself, who all work on putting the basic philosophy of mono into practice: developing jewelry that is exclusive, pointedly simple, and successful and most certainly of pure quality. The love of the product and the high art of perfection are reflected in the mono collection, which is thoroughly thought through down to the tiniest detail. One of the latest ideas, combining contemporary Indian rubber necklaces with simple, individual stainless steel elements, even convinced the responsible people at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. They included the mono collection in their permanent Museum Shop range. www.lifestyle-group.biz * cete

Unusual Pearl Jewelry

During the Intergem 2003 (October 3 to 6, 2003), the Trier-based, qualified designer Markus Erhard surprised everyone at the Schleffer (Schleifer) Gala with this head jewelry. Cooperating with CC Pearls from Düsseldorf, he created the superlative model using twisted Yokohama feathers with a fitted cultured pearl from the South Seas. This magnificent piece, which is 20 mm in size, is one of the world's largest pearls. * kph

Famous Colors

You can find all the colors of the rainbow in the "famous colors" jewelry line by Woll-Ketten, Pforzheim. New patterns in the current trend colors of the upcoming season complement the present collection - on show in Basel, hall 2.0, stand A51. www.woll-ketten.de

Valuable Links - Jewelry as a Connecting Element

The Dutch Chairman took the opportunity of the meeting of the OSCE Ministers (Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe) at the start of December 2003 in Maastricht for quite an unusual exhibition: jewelry artists from all 55 member states were invited to interpret as jewelry the leitmotif of the organization. The main thrust of the OSCE work is to take measures to improve trust, to monitor human rights, to contribute to the spread of democracy and to provide security in different contexts - in other words everything that is of any concern on the top level of international politics. At first glance, the topic of jewelry may appear decorative and practically meaningless in this setting. The title of the exhibition "Valuable Links" does away with any misunderstandings of any kind, as jewelry as a connecting element between various cultures has always been of precious value. The exhibition, which was initially shown in Maastricht in Holland and later on in Sofia in Bulgaria, featured contemporary and historical jewelry from the 55 member states and from ten other countries that work as OSCE cooperation partners. International jewelry allows us to draw astonishingly detailed conclusions on the cultural similarities and differences and on the manifold ways in which the same topic - ornaments for the body - can be interpreted. The exhibition, which was organized and held by the renowned Viennese Gallery V&V, gives us a faceted impression of the cultural traditions, different jewelry materials, of jewelry as an expression of personality and affiliation and of individual appreciation. "Valuable Links" - another reason for cross-border communication with and about jewelry. Information and catalogue "Valuable Links. Jewels from the OSCE countries", 30,- euros: www.kunstet.or.at/V+V/index.html * cete

Building Bridges with Jewelry

In their campaign "Jewels - Juwelen", the designers Daniela Gillardon and Susan Behnke want to support the aid project KASA (Kimaka Aids Support Association), KASA focuses on the medical educational support of orphans in the Southeast of Uganda, whose parents died of AIDS. Roughly a third of the jewelry designers donated work. There is still no final clarification on how the other 70% should be remunerated. However, even more than financial support, the designers are concerned with contact to the orphans. They should be allowed to touch the jewelry from Germany, play with it, draw it or portray it any other way. The results of this process, the jewelry and the photoggraphs that Susan Behnke takes of the action will then be put on exhibition. www.jewels-juwelen.de * kph

Ursula Gnädinger Awarded State Prize

The jewelry designer Ursula Gnädinger from Berlin received the Hesse State Prize for her overall design work. The jewelry designer also designs for the firm Bastian from Bremen. Her unique pieces are voluminous creations. The second prize went to the gold and silversmith Eva Doerkamp from Frankfurt am Main. She rose to prominence with cans, cups and salt shakers made of thin, fine silver. The third prize went to the jewelry designer Ulrike Hamm from Berlin, who has achieved some fame with her work with parchment, and to Barbara and Greogr Sommer from Breitscheid, who produce individual furniture made of selected wood. * kph

Welding without Laser

Anyone working with precious metals will know that precise soldering is not possible at some points or indentations. The electric point welding device (PUK) by Lambert Werktechnik GmbH enables absolutely precise welding and therefore stable and durable connections, even directly next to gemstones, on loops and smaller joints. The principle is simple and works fully automatically without the user being required to intervene any further: as soon as the electrode touches the work piece, the electric circuit closes and the welding process begins. A small arc is emitted from the point of contact and a small welding point (0.6 - 2.5 mm in diameter) bonds the metals together. All metal alloys made of gold, silver, platinum and palladium and most alloys with stainless steel, brass and titanium can be welded. www.lampert.info or www.lampertusa.com * cete

Oldest Ivory Artworks in the World

Scientists from the University of Tübingen have discovered ivory figures from the caves flanking the tributaries of the Danube, the Ach and the Lone. The unusual carvings, which are just a few centimeters in size and which are 33,000 years old, are the world's oldest known works of art to date. They are the roughly 4 centimeter depiction of a horse's head, the 3 centimeter portrayal of a water bird (perhaps a duck) and the 3 centimeter, upright figure of a mythical creature, half lion and half human. The characteristic forms were fashioned with amazing concentration on the essential from our perspective. The three items from the Hohe Fels Cave were discovered with numerous ivory swans. Scientists assume that they were made in the Southwest of Germany, which was something of a center of cultural innovation 30,000 years ago. The new discoveries will be on show in a special exhibition in the Prehistoric Museum in Blaubeuren until 4/18/2004. * kph

Gold and Platinum from a Tube

Feadoro, the magic fairy, makes it possible to turn simple, increasingly dull jewelry back into brilliantly glittering works of art. In cooperation with the Technical Jewelry Insititute at the Pforzheim College of Design, Technology and Business (Germany), the company Heimerle + Meule has developed pastes of both shining gold platelets and jet black platinum. These substances, which bear the names "feadoro Aurum" and "feadoro Platinegra", come in a tube and create magical effects on gold, silver, platinum, titanium, palladium, steel and alloys thereof and on natural materials. After a brief drying period underneath a heat source, the extremely wear-resistant coating is strongly bonded. Starter kits and other information is available under www.rund-ums-edelmetall.de * cete

Technical College of Arts and Crafts

In 2004 the Arts and Crafts College, Steyr, Austria, will be 110 years old. Beside the traditional department for engravers, two new training programs have been implemented: these include training for gold and silversmiths in 1960, and for blacksmiths and metal sculptors in 1989. Presently no other school offers this variety in study within Austria or Germany. In the newly renovated "Blümelhuber Villa", there is a rich and friendly, family like atmosphere as the groups of students are kept to a minimum. The workshops within the Blümelhuber Villa offer generous amounts of space for 40 gold- and silversmiths in addition to 18 engravers. Each student, regardless of specialization, is urged to attend courses covering the general aspects of each technical discipline. Small working groups are arranged in which 17 hours per week are reserved for practical application in the workshops and an additional 8 hours is to be devoted to technological instruction and specialized drawing. In all the instruction and practical work encompasses 37 hours per week. Various additional courses are also offered including technology, art history and economics. www.htl-steyr.ac.at * kph

A Sensible Addition to Board Tools made of Stone

Manual skils remain indispensable in traditional goldsmith art. In order to faciliate work in this area, product designer Thomas Blinke (Cathara Design) has developed a system of tools that mainly supports working on the board with regard to sawing and filing. Based on the vise that is generally known as the hinge caliber, the now well-known profile cutting method was developed that enabled secure clamping and processing of different profiles and small sheet metal formats. The disassociation form rhombus geometry and small sheet metal formats. The disassociation from rhombus geometry due to the padded jaws prompted Blinke to construct freely adjustable angled smiths that can be used to saw off and file down profiles in their current angles. The location of the cutting angle can also be defined relative to the profile ends. In 2002, a cutting gauge with five standard angles was added to the Kathara tool system, with which approximately 20 different, basic geometry forms can be manufactured directly without forging the angles. * kph

World Skills Competition

The World Skills Competition has taken place every two years since 1950. It is intended to emphasize the high quality of crafts and artistic skills among jewelry. The task in 2003 was to design brooches. Zoe Prophet won the silversmith prize, while Susanna Fyson secured the Jewelers Award. In both pieces of work, the jury was impressed by the technical quality and competence in the use of material. The winners received 1,500 pounds sterling and a metal voucher worth 500 pounds. In addition, both of them can take part in the course Getting Started, which is held each year in January www.whoswhoingoldandsilver.com * kph