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The Contemporary Jewelry Design Group (CJDG), which for 30 years has helped emerging and established jewelry designers to market and promote themselves, is considering disbanding, the group said in a Facebook ad and on its website on the 8th. October.
“[W]We have relied almost entirely on collecting membership dues, and reluctantly determined that this was no longer an option for the association in the future, ”the post said. “As we continued to gain new members, the renewal rate for current members continued to decline. Without the will of the members to continue, we can no longer cover the expenses of the organization.
“Most organizations have a lifespan, and with the changes in social media and the jewelry industry, CJDG has come to the end of its relevance. We have reached this determination with reluctance and sadness.
He concluded by thanking the members for their support: “We had a good race.
“It had been filtering for some time,” explains the group’s executive director, Marylouise Sirignano Lugosch. “It’s a different world, even five years ago. A lot of designers struggle, and the first thing they cut is their group dues. “
CJDG was founded in 1989 by a group of American designers who felt unable to publicize their work and wished to pool their marketing resources.
“They organized many trade shows and they were always confronted with the big Italian jewelry companies, the big international companies”, explains Lugosch. “They kept saying, ‘Wait a minute. American jewelry designers are doing a very good job. It was really difficult at that time to get the trade press to cover them. So they thought that if they got together as a group, it would help, especially for shows.
In many ways, the group has fulfilled its mandate, she said. American designers are now an important part of the industry and are well covered by the trade press. The CJDG website boasts that its members have won more design awards than any other association.
In recent years, CJDG has focused its efforts in the digital realm, including a website and social media feeds and an auction in honor of the late designer advocate Cindy Edelstein.
“I still think there is a need for a band like ours,” Lugosch says, although maybe he needs to have a different model.
Lugosch remains executive director of the American Jewelry Design Council, which promotes the recognition and importance of jewelry design as an art.
(Image via: Twitter)
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