A view of Manhattan looking south from the Empire State Building. The summer edition of the JA New York jewelry trade show is set to take place in the city next week. (Photo credit: Julienne Schaer/ NYC & Company)
New York--Next week, New York City will play host to a run of jewelry events.
The JA New York jewelry trade show will start Sunday at the Javits Center, while the Women’s Jewelry Association has events planned for both Monday evening and Wednesday afternoon.
Read on to learn more, as well as to find out about a few things happening in the city in July that have little or nothing to do with jewelry.
1. Explore experiential retail. As a retailer, it’s never a bad idea to check out how merchants outside the jewelry industry are reimagining their stores to suit today’s customers.
National Jeweler, as does any other publication that writes about stores today, has published numerous articles about the importance of making your store an experience; the latest was in Peter’s Smith most recent column.
Arguably the most well-known of New York City’s experiential retail stores is Story (144 10th Ave., at 19th Street), the store that switches themes and product every few months that was just acquired by Macy’s. (The current theme is very summer-appropriate—Out of Office.)
But it certainly doesn’t end there.
Retail Dive just published a list of 22 cutting-edge concept and flagship stores in the city, including: the Amazon Book store on West 34th Street, the Converse store at 560 Broadway that’s complete with a customization lab and the showroom for popular beauty brand Glossier, located at 123 Lafayette St. in SoHo.
2. Get educated at JA New York. The jewelry trade show takes place Sunday, July 15 through Tuesday, July 17 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and education sessions are scheduled for the first two days.
Among the highlights are: a presentation and discussion by Jewelers of America’s Amanda Gizzi and Lauren Kalma on how to stand out on social media, scheduled for Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to noon; a presentation by Elle Hill on how retailers can develop a brand identity for their store, both online and off, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday; and, on Monday from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m., a presentation on current and upcoming jewelry trends by National Jeweler Associate Editor Ashley Davis.
One of the tables at the Blue Box Café, the in-store eatery Tiffany opened on the fourth floor of its New York flagship in November 2017. 3. Have breakfast at Tiffany’s.
For those who want to get out of the city, head up to Hudson, New York, to see the store just opened by PR firm and designer showroom For Future Reference.
4. Meet other retailers. Jewelers of America is having a designer preview and member meet-up on the evening of Sunday, July 15, following JA New York.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. and will take place at Studio 450, an event venue with rooftop views of Manhattan at 450 W. 31st St., located between 9th and 10th avenues and within walking distance of the Javits Center.
The event is free and includes food and drink but is open to retailers only. Those interested in attending can RSVP on Jewelers.org.
5. Go to church at the Met. Each year, The Costume Institute at The Met hosts a spring exhibition with a different theme. The start of the exhibition is marked by the annual Met Gala, a red-carpet event that always features plenty of jewelry.
This year, the theme is “Heavenly Bodies and the Catholic Imagination” and includes papal robes and accessories from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which have never been seen outside The Vatican.
It is on display now through Oct. 8 at The Met’s Fifth Avenue and Cloisters location.
General information about the museum (hours, ticket prices, etc.) is available on MetMuseum.org.
For more information on “Heavenly Bodies” specifically, visit the exhibition page.
Marla Aaron was one of the independent jewelry designers to find their way onto the Met Gala red carpet this year. Here, director Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) is wearing one of the designer’s custom locks—this one in the shape of a cross—as a headpiece. 6. Stay through Wednesday to be “In the Know.” Following the JA NY jewelry trade show, the Women’s Jewelry Association NY Metro chapter is holding a half-day “In the Know” conference.
The theme is “The Evolution of Jewelry in the Digital Space,” and the event will feature four speakers, all of whom will address the topic of how to grow one’s brand while also protecting it online.
It will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. on the second floor of Studio 29, 115 W. 29th St., between 6th and 7th avenues. Advance tickets are $80 for members and $95 for non-members. Day-of tickets are also $95.
WJA also will be holding its annual Awards for Excellence on Monday evening starting at 6 p.m. This year, the association simplified the program with the presentation of four Visionary Awards. Tickets are $400 for members and $450 for non-members.
7. See Shakespeare outside for nothing. Every summer, the Public Theater puts on performances of Shakespeare plays at the open-air Delacorte Theater in Central Park, and admission is free.
While the performances are notoriously hard to get tickets for, those in New York next week might be in luck.
According to Time Out New York, seats are easier to secure at the beginning of each show’s run, before word of mouth and reviews begin to circulate. Fortuitously, next Tuesday marks the first day of the second Shakespeare production of the summer, “Twelfth Night.” (“Othello” was the first and ended in late June.)
