I’ve had the opportunity to be part of something incredibly cool over the past few months: the birth of Metal and Smith, a brand new exclusive one-day luxury shopping event for jewelry brands and retailers.
After reams of emails, ages of phone calls, and incredible amounts of time and energy from everyone behind the scenes, Metal and Smith debuted on September 19th and I was there in person to experience it all.
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.
The event tops out at 50 brands, all hand-picked and evaluated to fit together to offer a cohesive, complimentary range of innovative, chic, and exciting jewelry options, from entry level to seriously high end.
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.
The best part of the day was the palpable energy of having so many talented, creative designers in one space. I met several people who were exhibiting at a show for the very first time. The amount of artistic enthusiasm in that room was incredible.
I never pass up a chance to visit with Kataoka and their gorgeous designs!
That’s them with me in the photo up above – they’re the sweetest team. They also make mind-bogglingly beautiful jewelry. Just look at those rings above! Seriously. That Paraiba band haunts my dreams.