Blogging for people interested in learning more about the kind of jewelry you can’t normally find in Thailand.

A lecture on the Development of Contemporary Jewelry and Jewelry Education in Europe:  Past, Present; Future was held at TCDC on Sunday August 30th, 2009.  It was given by Doris Maninger, a co-founder and co-director of Alchimia:  Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence, Italy who was in Bangkok to scout out a location for their frist out of Italy branch.  It was a good opportunity for Thai audience to get to see a different kind of jewelry–not fine jewelry nor costume jewelry.  Many examples of contemporary art or studio jewelry were shown during the lecture.

Doris talked about contemporary jewelry movements in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the UK and pointed out differences in their styles and concepts. 

Dutch jewelry is known for its interesting use of non-precious materials to form distinct jewelry with strong personal concepts–very conceptual pieces. 

German jewelers on the other hand, create jewelry out of both precious and non-precious materials combined harmoniously to convey their concepts in a very interesting way. 

Swiss jewelers play with their sarcarstic points of view and using various types of materials including recycled or trash objects to create very high quality jewelry. 

Italy is well-known for its fine craftsmanship in jewelry making for many decades.  Craftsmanship was still the heart of Italian contemporary jewelry, where many artists use concepts that reflect upon its long tradition.  Unlike Dutch jewelry, Italian jewelry gives more weight on beauty than concepts.

The UK contemporary jewelry scene has been quite vibrant due to a large number of schools teaching jewelry design and making.  The overall style of UK jewelry is largely influenced by fashion and textile techniques.  Its jewelry are considered very innovative in the way it is produced.

Doris stressed at the end of the lecture that when traditional craftsmanship meets creativity of today’s world, great things can be realized.  I hope that Thai jewelry educators and young jewelers can learn from European experience shown to us during the lecture, and learn to create our own unique ways of making Thai contemporary and art jewelry.

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Tanim is proud to present a lecture/workshop by the owners and directors of Alchimia School of Contemporary Jewelry in Florence, Italy–Doris Maninger and Lucia Massei. 

Doris will have a lecture titled The Development of Jewelry and Jewelry Education in Europe:  Past, Present, Future on Sunday August 30, 2009 at Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC) at 14:00, with registration from 13:00.  The lecture is open to the public with only 150 seats available. To reserve a seat, please email info@tanimpimpaporn.com. 

Doris and Lucia will teach a workshop called Preciousness as Ideal and Reality in Contemporary Jewelry on Friday August 28, 2009 at TCDC from 14:00-18:30, Sunday August 30, 2009 at TCDC from 15:15-16:15 and, Friday September 4, 2009 at Tanim Head Office from 10:30-14:30.  Jewelry will not be completed during the meeting times but will be completed between the first and last meeting at participants own time and space.  Maximum number of participants is 20. 

To apply, submit the following info to info@tanimpimpaporn.com, subject line:  Workshop, by August 21, 2009:  Name, Contact info, Place of work, Reasons to take the workshop, 3 photos of previous jewelry works, 1 photo of workspace.  First-come-first-served basis, priority given to professional jewelry designers/makers.

More info on the workshop can be found on our website:  www.tanimpimpaporn.com under news, workshop.  For more info on the school:  www.alchimia.it.

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This is a sad story.  Only a week after I posted my article about an up and coming jewelry brand here in Thailand, their works have been copied and sold on a website!

That’s right, what one person spent months creating are now being sold at wholesale prices by someone else—in this case a european silver manufacturer.  This is very discouraging for young jewelry designers/makers who are working so hard to make a name for themselves.  Thailand is full of big companies and it is hard enough for us to come up with unique enough works to compete with their more econimically priced jewelry since they are made in bulk, not by hand like our works.

The online company that is selling the copied works is originally from a European country but has an office in Bangkok, Thailand.  It is a shame that many people look down on Thailand as a country that has no creativity of its own since there are so many copied products here.  But look at who is taking advantage of the situation, a company from a developed country. 

Even though it’s not my works that are being copied, I am so frustrated about this whole thing.  A few of us Thais are trying so hard to upgrade our jewelry products with original designs but it took only one small incident like this to take us a few steps back.  But we will not stop here. Actions will be taken in this case by the owners of the brand with consultations from certain governmental offices. 

This might mean nothing to you…I just needed to vent. Sigh….

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What do you think of when you talk about ”craft”? 

What comes to your mind when you think of the word “art”?

I saw an interview of a young and emerging studio jewelry brand in the local newspaper last week (in Thai).  The jewelry looked quite modern and artsy.  As I was reading the interview, I was bothered by one word that a jewelry maker/designer used to describe her jewelry–craft.  For some reasons, from the first look at the photos of jewelry displayed in the paper, I was actually thinking of the words “art and design” and “wearable art” rather than “craft”.

At one point, the designers (there are two designers working together here) described their jewelry work as miniature art–which to me conflicted with the idea of craft that I pointed out earlier.

Is it just me that feels that the word “craft” is not the best choice of word here? At least in Thailand…

What is craft?

Handicraft, also known as craftwork or simply craft, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or using only simple tools. Usually the term is applied to traditional means of making goods. The individual artisanship of the items is a paramount criterion, such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass production or machines are not handicrafts.

Usually, what distinguishes the term handicraft from the frequently used category arts and crafts is a matter of intent: handicraft items are intended to be used, worn, etc, having a purpose beyond simple decoration. Handicrafts are generally considered more traditional work, created as a necessary part of daily life, while arts and crafts implies more of a hobby pursuit and a demonstration/perfection of a creative technique. In practical terms, the categories have a great deal of overlap.

(Wikipedia)

I think the distinction between “handicraft or craft” and “arts and crafts” is the word “creative technique”. 

Thailand’s craft

In Thailand, when people talk about craft, they mainly think of simple woven baskets, local and traditional pottery, etc.  These objects are meant to be used so the purpose of their designs is the practicality.  If one goes to a craft fair in Thailand, one will not find studio jewelry like the jewelry we are discussing here. One will find jewelry made with traditional techniques and styles that has been made in the same manner for many decades.

To me, if the designer have had used the word “hand-made”, I would not have thought twice about it.  “Hand-made” is a more neutral word that doesn’t alienate the concept of creativity. It also stresses that fact that the jewelry is not made by machines in large numbers.  I think it’s a better word to use if one wants to promote studio jewelry in Thailand.

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Well, I have been absent from this blog for a while but now I am back.

I have been expanding my understanding of art and contemporary jewelry in the hope that I could write more about this topic.  In the next few posts I will be writing about my recent experience visiting fairs and galleries in Europe earlier on this year. 

The art and contemporary jewelry market in Thailand is still at its infant stage so it is good to look at other places with a much developed markets.   Many lessons can be learned. 

It’s about time we grow older and wiser!

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Have you ever wondered why people wear certian types of jewelry? Here in Thailand, some people choose to wear bangles or cuffs for a reason. 

The Thai word for bangles or cuffs is “Kam Lai” and the word for profit is “Kam Rai”.  See the connection here? Some business women wear “Kam Lai” so that they will be getting “Kam Rai” while doing business.

The next time you are at a jewelry store, you may want to consider buying a bangle or a cuff as a good luck charm.  Or when selling you works, you can now tell your customers why they should consider buying a bangle instead of a pair of earrings.

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Code 10, the newest boutique in town features top 10 Thai clothing designers and 10 contemporary jewelry brands.  Nine out of ten jewelry brands are Tanim current and soon to be members!  They are Solid Skin, CASO, Todesire, Phonthip, SaPrang, Pilantha, Aztique, Flow and La Chiocciolina.

It is a new center for those who are looking for hand-made/hand-assembled, small production works with great original designs.  It is located on the 1st floor of Siam Paragon Shopping Center, right next to Starbucks and in front of IWC store.

The grand opening of the store was held on Friday Nov. 21 and many celebrities and high-profile people came to browse through the new clothing collections and the jewelry.  I hope they will come back and buy our works!

*** The store was very understanding when I told them about the differences between costume jewelry and hand-made contemporary works.  They even changes their promotional materials! ***

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When Alan Revere was in Bangkok for a design workshop back at the end of September, I took him to a mall where many jewelry stores/stalls are.  Why? Not to shop of course, but to allow him to see what we have here as far as jewelry is concerned.  We first hit the area where stainless steel and costume jewelry were located.  Alan said the designs were ’safe’ as far as sale is concerned but not much insterest here.  We then moved to fashion jewelry section where Alan saw pieces he didn’t think would be considered jewelry. He was surprised to see jewelry made of brass that was not being plated to prevent tarnish and discoloration against the skin. After that, we walked by many fine jewelry stores.  After browsing through many windows and shops filled with sparkling pieces, Alan found only one piece that was worth mentioning. 

At the end of our little trip to the mall, I had a feeling that Alan wasn’t impressed by the jewelry we have available to the publics, maybe even disappointed by what he saw.

It is a shame that Thailand is well-known for gems and jewelry manufactures but not for its design.

Ajarn Tim fowarded me an article he found and I think it’s worth reading if you want to understand what I am talking about here and the reason why Tanim was formed.  The article was written by Richard Hughes who is a expert in gemology and has lived in Thailand for a while. 

http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/thai-jewelry-industry.htm

Contrary to Richard’s afterword, I personally think that things haven’t changed that much for the local market since he wrote the article. Gemstone “hangers” are still dominating the Thai market and Thai people still want to own things with brand names regardless of designs.  Arts are still being appreciated mostly by artisits…

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I just had a conversation on the phone with a really nice lady who wanted to consign jewelry for her soon to be opened clothing boutique in the hippest mall in Bangkok.  After explaining to her that my jewelry is mostly one of a kind, made of sterling silver and 18K gold, she exclaimed, “oh it’s costume jewelry.”  I started to frown with a mixed feeling. I didn’t want to be impolite and correct her on the phone that my jewelry is definitely not costume jewelry but she needed to know that! But how can I tell her on the phone, without  her seeing my pieces?

Shrek Ring

Pearl Row Earrings

As a creator, I would call most of my works contemporary jewelry, with a handful of art jewelry pieces.  I have been struggling to find easy ways to explain to people the differences between costume jewelry and art jewelry. 

Here in Thailand, anything that is not made of gold or platinum with diamonds or ‘precious’ colored stones are considered Costume.  And that’s way too braod.  I have seen amazing art pieces made purely of plastic or paper.  I have also seen mass-produced jewelry made of enameled and ’semi-precious’stones that I would consider them costume jewelry (or fashion jewelry).  People here would rather pay money for such jewelry than unique art pieces…

I am sure that those of us who are in the jewelry business would have no problem distinguishing the two types of jewelry mentioned. But how can we explain to the general public the differences between the two? Where do we draw the line? Is costume jewelry the same as fashion jewelry?  I am confused!

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