Houlden Group to support talent with award at The Jewellery Show
January 10, 2012 – The UK’s longest established jewellery and watch buying organisation, Houlden Group, has announced it will be returning to The Jewellery Show in 2012 to launch its Designs of Excellence initiative.
Through its sponsorship of the Show’s Design Quarter Gems section, Houlden Group has invited talented and inspiring designers to exhibit their latest collections.
Designers with the judging panel in 2011 competition
An expert panel of judges featuring representatives from the Group will then choose the designer with the most original, innovative and eye-catching collection to win the acclaimed Designer of Excellence award.
Repeating the success of last year’s initiative, the judging panel will also select outstanding pieces of jewellery from the winner and the other designers’ collections to form a travelling exhibition, Designs of Excellence, which will tour Houlden members’ stores throughout the UK and Ireland.
The Designs of Excellence Collection is sure to create publicity for the designers involved and provides the opportunity to have pieces shown in some of the most successful independent retailers’ stores in the country.
Stuart Laing, Chief Executive of the Houlden Group and part of the judging panel, said: “It’s important that we support but also reward brilliant individual designers producing cutting-edge jewellery to the highest standards.”
Some of the world’s most talented up and coming jewellery designers have already entered the Designer of Excellence competition. So far, they include:
• Rachel Galley
• Aradia Nista
• Babette Wasserman
• Cindy Dennis Mangan
• Leyla Abdollahi
• SHO Fine Jewellery
• William Cheshire
• Alexander Davis
• Flash Jordan
• Jeremy Hoye
The winner of the Designer of Excellence Award will be announced at 4.30pm on Monday 6th February at The Jewellery Show’s Jewellery Catwalk.