I am very excited to have been selected as a finalist in the fourth edition of THENEXTNOW, a national design competition!
THENEXTNOW is a partnership between designer jewelry retailer Ylang 23 and fashion incubator Trendseeder. Through their events, they seek to find and foster the next generation of independent jewelry designers, create a community, and formalize mentorship that has been happening for decades between Ylang 23's founders, jewelry buyers, sales team, and emerging designers.
On May 22nd, thirty designers (including me!) competed as finalists in New York in a "Science Fair" style event in which judges moved through designer displays, holding conversations about our work. Following the judging, networking and a panel discussion were held to round out the evening.
With only half a table for display and a few short minutes to speak with each judge, the competition side of event was a bit of a whirlwind. However, in the moments when the judges were on the other side of the room, I was able to take advantage of the true benefit of the day: the network of emerging designers participating in the event.
I had the incredible pleasure of sharing a display table with Andrea Panico, Owner/Creative Director of Pico Design. With training as a furniture designer, her clean, architectural forms use materials often found in building design projects, such as marble and granites. Her work is beautiful and our easy conversation made the entire event a wonderful experience. Check out her work here: https://www.picomeanslittle.com/
I walked away from THENEXTNOW victorious. Maybe not victorious with a contract to sell my pieces in Ylang 23 or have a spread in InStyle... but with coffee and wine dates in my calendar and a pocket full of extremely stylish business cards from my table mate and surrounding competitors, I think I won the event. :-)
