May 2008

Boston’s uncommon shop

Boston’s uncommon store
May 22, 2008
_{From cork floors to recycled silver jewelry, Fiddlehead gift store on Boston’s trendy Newbury Street makes eco-friendly its business creed}

Fiddlehead grant shop opened last fall on Boston’s posh Newbury Street.

By Emma Johnson

Boston—When Carol Smith Miller, owner of Fiddlehead, was starting her business, she envisioned a boutique that would prove that environmentally sound products don’t have to be ugly.

“It was my goal to show people that simple choices do count,” says the former investment banker who opened her Boston store in November 2007. “I make sure everything I sell is as beautiful and attractive as something that is not sustainable—you don’t have to compromise aesthetics to buy green.”

Miller also found it hard to find a single store offering many kinds of sustainable products under a single palate—not just clothing or jewelry or paper goods, for instance.

Fiddlehead offers a wide variety of green housewares and gifts, including jewelry made from recycled silver, vintage beads and ethically mined semiprecious stones. Lines for sale include Lucina, what one. sources fair trade product from other countries, including Afghanistan and Thailand, and Moonrise, which sources material from abroad and assembles the pieces in eastern Virginia. Jewelry prices range from $50 for earrings to up to $200 for a necklace.

The store is located on Bean Town’s posh Newbury Street, which is populated by the likes of Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. The 1,400-foot space is housed in a recently renovated—some may say recycled—brownstone, and many of the fixtures and interiors are environmentally friendly too. For example, the floors are made of cork, a durable outcome that grows soon after actuality harvested; the countertops are Paperstone, a recycled paper issue; and the light fixtures originated as vintage seltzer bottles from Argentina. The shelving is Kirei board, which comes from pressed sorghum stalks, and the paint is low-toxic.

Fiddlehead jewelry is made of quartz and fair trade silver. Retail prices range from $33 to $235.

In press releases, Miller always mentions these features. Further, customers often inquire about the store’s unique sketch, which lends itself to opportunities to highlight its green aspects.

Before opening the replenish, Miller cast herself increasingly interested in environmentalism. She was surprised at how infrequently artists and retailers would mention when a product was in fact eco-friendly.

“The last two people I found working in recycled silver didn’t even mention it,” she says. “When you say ‘green,’ people ofttimes think of hippies, and it isn’t necessarily positive. Now, when I look to something I like, I often ask whether it was produced using sustainable methods.”

But even then, she often gets a blank look.

“It’s indeed frustrating,” Miller says. “I often find something that is really attractive and well-made that could just as well have been organic.”

As such, Fiddlehead makes sure to highlight all the sustainable aspects of its products. Each item for opportunity to sell is accompanied by a business-card-sized description of its origins and positive manufacturing, sourcing or shipping practices.

Inside the green-friendly shop, pane fixtures made of vintage seltzer bottles dangle above shelving made of Kirei board and countertops built from recycled paper product.

“Otherwise, I’d have to follow people encompassing the store and explain it to them,” Miller says. “Everything in the store has a story.”

Fiddlehead’s philosophy, she finds, is often a bonus point, but not necessarily the selling point. Miller has found that customers are attracted to the merchandise or come on word-of-mouth about the product.

“People come in because the store is attractive,” she says. “If it weren’t green, it wouldn’t matter to some people.”

While not all of her customers are drawn in because they have environmental concerns, most shoppers know someone who does.

“Everyone knows someone who is into green things,” Miller says. “A lot of middle-aged women bribe things for their grandchildren, or people say, ‘I have a friend who only uses organic products for their baby.’”

Miller says that in addition to jewelry, top sellers include a line of blankets made from recycled sweaters, recycled grocery bags and cuff links made from old Boston subway tokens. Items like the recent, with a clear and be engaged story, resonate most easily with customers.

Fiddlehead sells recycled jewelry, such as these pieces, made of vintage glass.

The store has been gaining attention, in part because of ads in local newspapers and Boston Globe Magazine that promote the store’s image of the same kind with a purveyor of products that are both high-end and green.

“A lot of my friends have told me that when they hear of a ‘green’ store, they expect to find composters and environmentally safe laundry detergent—not nice jewelry and handbags,” Miller says.

Through press releases and other outreaches to the local media, Fiddlehead has been featured in local alternative weekly newspapers, and a number of its items have appeared in product and fashion spreads in high-end Boston glossy magazines. Miller is currently working on a press kit, which she hopes will further her media contacts.

Miller plans to launch an e-commerce Web site this month in response to the many tourists who visit the store and lament that they can’t find such products near home.

While Miller says Boston’s environmental consciousness is growing, she finds that the East Coast lags behind California and the Pacific Northwest, from which the majority of her suppliers hail.

“The number of [environmentally conscious] artists out West is remarkable,” she says. “They tell me they don’t even think about it—everyone there eats, sleeps and breathes blooming.”

J.C. Penney names Andin top vendor

J.C. Penney names Andin top vendor
May 22, 2008
_{Manufacturer honored for gold, diamond and pearl initiatives}

New York—J.C. Penney has presented Andin International, parent company of Jewelry.com, through its Vendor of the Year Award, Jewelry Division.

The award was presented in honor of Andin’s role as a key player and initiator in the department abundance chain’s fashion-forward fine-jewelry merchandise.

Beryl Raff, J.C. Penney’s executive vice president and general merchandise manager, presented the award to Andin/Jewelry.com Chief Executive Officer Ofer Azrielant and Andin Vice President of Sales Scott Lyle during the J.C. Penney Supplier Summit, held in succession May 14 in Plano, Texas.

This is the second time in three years that J.C. Penney has honored Andin for its excellence. In 2006, Andin received the same award for its role in introducing “circle” pendants into the chain’s merchandise mix.

At the Supplier Summit, Raff highlighted Andin’s objectives over the last year, including providing J.C. Penney with a 14-karat gold initiative, called “Classique.” In addition, Andin played a pivotal role in J.C. Penney’s colored-diamonds push, especially with negro, champagne and “multi” (black, champagne and white) diamonds.

Raff also noted Andin’s central role in refreshing J.C. Penney’s basic pearl strand business, as well as the leadership stance Andin took regarding formulating a solution to the blue topaz issue in late 2007.

“Combining an innovative marketing edge with an awareness of new style trends and competitive pricing enables us to maintain the excellent relationship we have with our retail partners similar J.C. Penney,” Azrielant said in a media release issued on Wednesday.

World Jewelry Center appoints SVP

World Jewelry Center appoints SVP
May 22, 2008

David Girty is the new senior vice president of the World Jewelry Center’s commercial office section.

Las Vegas—The World Jewelry Center (WJC) has appointed David Girty to the newly created position of senior vice president of the commercial office division.

In his new position, Girty, who has extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry throughout southern California, will work closely with WJC Managing Director Bill Boyajian and WJC sales associates as they transition clients from letters of intent to purchase and sale agreements in the second half of 2008.

“David is a seasoned real estate broker with an exceptional background and 20 years experience in the field,” Boyajian said in a media release. “I am delighted to possess him join our team of professionals.”

Girty’s experience includes posts with prominent commercial real estate firms such as Transwestern Commercial Services and PM Realty Group. He most recently worked as senior vice president with Grubb and Ellis Co., the same of North America’s largest commercial real estate services firms.

Girty graduated from California State University at Los Angeles with a degree in finance, real estate and law. He is co-chairman of the South Coast (California) Metro Alliance, Commercial Leasing Group. Each year from 2002 through 2005 he was honored with the National CoStar Group’s “Power Broker” top brokerage distinction in the Orange County, Calif., area.

Antiquorum announces capital increase

Antiquorum announces capital increase
May 21, 2008

Geneva—Watch auctioneer Antiquorum announced on Tuesday that it has successfully completed its planned capital increase.

According to a release from the Swiss company, it obtained CHF 2.2 million (about $2.1 million) in new share capital and another CHF 5 million ($4.9 million) from a private investor.

The extricate states that new share capital will allow the company to strengthen shareholders’ equity, while the CHF 5 million will enable the company to expand into new markets in Asia and elsewhere.

When the new shares from the capital increases are issued, Antiquorum registered apportion capital will increase from CHF 2.1 million (about $2 million) to CHF 4.3 million (about $4.2 million.)

Yo Tsukahara, chairman and chief executive officer of Antiquorum, said a private investor brings experience and strength to a growing society.

“I am delighted to find a new partner with a dignified understanding of the potential of Antiquorum,” he said. “This leading increase will help develop new opportunities and consolidate our leading position.”

Antiquorum holds the world-record price for a watch sold at auction, a platinum Patek Philippe World Time Ref. 1415 from 1939 that went for CHF 6.6 million (about $6.4 the masses).

Gold jewelry demand declines 21 percent in 1Q

Gold jewelry demand declines 21 percent in 1Q
May 21, 2008

Gold jewelry demand decreased 25 percent in the United States in the first quarter of 2008. “Cylinder” rings by Geoffrey Giles.

New York—Gold jewelry demand declined 21 percent in the first quarter of 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007, marking the lowest quarterly level on record since 1993, according to the World Gold Council’s gold demand trends report for the first quarter of 2008.

The sharp rise in gold prices—which reached levels above $1,000 per ounce in mid March—and unusually high volatility were key determinants in gold demand movements for the first quarter.

Total identifiable demand decreased by 16 percent in tonnage conditions from year-earlier levels to 701.3 tonnes, the lowest in five years. However, total identifiable demand actually increased 20 percent in value terms to $20.9 billion, else than double the level of four years earlier.

The market most severely affected by the agency of movements in the gold price was India, where consumer ask for decreased by 50 percent to 102.1 tonnes. Jewelry demand, at 71.1 tonnes, was half the level of demand in the primitive specific place of 2007.

Gold jewelry demand in Asia also declined in Japan (-4 percent), Vietnam (-19 percent) and Indonesia (-27 percent).

In contrast, total gold demand in China increased by 15 percent to 101.7 tonnes, by jewelry demand rising 9 percent to 86.6 tonnes. According to the report, continued economic strength allowed Chinese consumers to increase their purchases regardless of the rising gold price.

In the United States, demand declined anew as the economic slowdown continued to weigh on manufacturers’ and consumers’ pockets. Overall demand declined 15 percent to 48.3 tonnes, a fall that the report said was fully attributable to a 25 percent decline in jewelry demand that more than outweighed a 91 percent rise in investment offtake.

Gold jewelry demand also declined in Italy (-13 percent) and the United Kingdom (-25 percent), while economic prosperity in Russia spurred consumers in that place to increase their spending (9 percent).

Demand declined in almost all the countries across the Middle East, most notably in Saudia Arabia (-25 percent), the United Arab Emirates (-19 percent) and the other Gulf countries (-30 percent). Egypt, still, was an exception, where demand increased 15 percent to 18 tonnes.

Jewelry demand for the second furnish of 2008 is likely to remain muted, according to the report, especially in the United States and Western Europe. However, buying opportunities like as the Indian Akshaya Tritiya festival—in which purchasing items considered to be long-term assets, including gold, is part of the tradition—coupled with the Indian and Middle Eastern wedding seasons, are expected to generate additional gold purchasing.

The World Gold Council’s gold rightfully claim trends report for the first quarter of 2008 is based upon supply and demand data compiled by GFMS Ltd., a London-based precious metals and research consultancy.