Remember a few months ago when we talked about Metal and Smith, the ultra-cool new fine jewelry buying event that launched in September? Well, the event just had its second iteration, and it was even more fabulous than the first.
The clean white walls and bright windows filled with streaming sunlight that I loved so much from the September event remained the same, and I was glad of it. Few things make a blogger happier than an event with natural lighting.
Metal and Smith’s January edit featured a selection of returning designers from the first event, as well as quite a few new additions. One of the new designers was Gigi Ferrante, the brand responsible for the colorful masterpiece above. The designer herself is just as lovely as this particular design: she’s endlessly bubbly and warm and I could happy have talked to her for the entire event.
This gorgeous thing is from Gigi Ferrante’s new Regalo collection, which is resplendent with diamonds, pink sapphires, and pink tourmalines in rose gold. It also matched my nails perfectly.
Eden Presley was another Metal and Smith newcomer – it’s her stunning gemstone rings I’m wearing over the cupcake tray in the photo above. I’ve admired Eden Presley’s work for years, but I’d never seen it or met her in person before.
Which reminds me of another improvement I enjoyed at the January event: I think there were more frequent champagne and cupcake trays circulating. Either that, or I accidentally befriended one of the waiters and he took excellent care of me.
The Metal and Smith January edit brought vintage and antique brands into the mix for the first time!
Obviously this delighted me, especially because it meant I was reunited with one of my very favorite jewelry people, Grace of Jewels by Grace. We sipped champagne and talked about things that had to be deleted from the audio of the videos I was taking (due to severe inappropriateness) and I piled on as many of her earrings as I physically could.
The stud at the top is my own, because it’s a newish piercing and I can’t take it out yet. I think this is its blog debut, actually. Surprise!
Here’s another killer piece from Jewels by Grace: an antique diamond ring with an emerald halo.
This ring…it speaks to me. It sings to me. I look forward to dreaming about it.
The biggest improvement between the September Metal and Smith event and the January Metal and Smith is one you won’t be able to see from this blog post: the January event had more space. The previously one-room #notatradeshow expanded into a second space for January, making it even easier for buyers, stylists, editors, and other guests of the show to work their way between the fascinating array of designers’ display tables.
I, personally, enjoyed having ample room in which to swan around with borrowed jewels, endlessly seeking the best pockets of lighting in front of neutral walls.
Metal and Smith’s hashtag and philosophy – #notatradeshow – says it all: the goal is to reinvent the setting in which jewelry brands and retailers interact into something streamlined, luxe, and actually enjoyable for everyone involved.
Picture this: a clean, industrial space with high ceilings and white walls, flooded with sunlight from wide windows. Buyers, bloggers, stylists, and more mill around the room, strolling past high tables displaying jewelry that you don’t have to kneel down to see, chatting with friendly designers who can’t say enough about how excited they are to be a part of something innovative. There are no booths isolating the different vendors, no long, confusing aisles to get lost in.
I never pass up a chance to visit with Kataoka and their gorgeous designs!