Interdisciplinary. Community. Advocacy. Humor.
The Association for Contemporary Jewellery is devoted to the promotion, representation, understanding and development of contemporary jewellery in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Website: http://www.acj.org.uk/
Location: UK
Members: 67
Latest Activity: Oct 11, 2020
is devoted to the promotion, representation, understanding and development of contemporary jewellery in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Founded as a membership association in 1997 and registered as a Limited Company in 2006, it recognises a need to foster discussion, debate and critical review and interaction amongst its members. To this end we organise conferences, lectures, seminars, workshops and an annual general meeting for our members. Our regular newsletter, findings, features reviews, information, comment, book offers and discounts and is of benefit to both our members and the wider public. We also produce a monthly e-bulletin featuring news and opportunities.
We welcome as members practising jewellers, associated designers and crafts people, educators, students, gallery owners and retailers, museum curators, critics and collectors - indeed, anyone with an interest in contemporary jewellery.
The Association for Contemporary Jewellery
PO Box 37807 London SE23 1XJ United Kingdom
Telephone: + 00 44 (0)20 8291 4201
Fax: + 00 44 (0)20 8291 4452
Email: enquiries@acj.org.uk
WHAT WE DO
• promote greater understanding of contemporary jewellery
• support jewellers’ creative and professional development
• develop audiences for this lively field of contemporary craft and design
Started by Rebecca Skeels Oct 11, 2020. 0 Replies 1 Like
Dear All Members, Followers and Likers of our Network pages.We are currently streamlining our pages at the moment and have found that fewer people are now following and using twitter and crafthaus to find out about jewellery events, exhibitions, opportunities, seeing new work and generally chatting about jewellery.If you use these, please head over to our other pages on other platforms: -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Association.Contemporary.Jewellery/Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3628898/Linkedin Business page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/association-for-contemporary-jewellery-limitedInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/acj.org.uk/and of course, our main website…Continue
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AJF ARTIST AWARD GUIDELINES
http://www.artjewelryforum.org/ajf-artist-award-guidelines?utm_sour...
AJF's publication committee and staff wrangle not just the fabulous content AJF publishes each month, but also manage the 125-plus writers--from five continents--that contribute to AJF. When I said "contribute," I should be clear that AJF pays writers for their work, commensurate with their experience, as they say. Your support goes toward paying the writers for their efforts!
Part of AJF's mission is to nurture writing and critical skills by providing younger writers with editorial support and encouragement. This means AJF commissions not only established writers who are regularly featured in books, magazines, and online journals, but also writers just starting out. Working with less-experienced writers means that our content will vary in color, style, and expertise, but we think it is worth helping young writers find their voices in a field that notably lacks dedicated history/critical theory departments.
Here's what some of AJF's writers look like, listed alphabetically by first name. (There are even more contributors, but these are the ones whose photos we have!) Aren't they a smart-looking group of individuals?
You can learn more about them in the taglines that appear below their articles. I hope you enjoy "meeting" them as much as we enjoy working with them.
Benjamin Lignel
AJF Editor
Research residency for a London-based visual artist at the Foundling Museum, engaging with its work and collections.
Deadline for applications: 4 August 2014.
This is an opportunity for an artist to engage with the collections, curators and work of the Foundling Museum and undertake a period of research to develop their practice and a new body of work. Applications for this research residency are now open.
The successful applicant will receive:
• A bursary of £3,000
• Access to the Foundling Museum’s collections and curators
• Support in presenting their research and work in a public facing event
About the Foundling Museum
The Foundling Museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, established in 1739 to care for London’s abandoned babies. The Hospital was the brainchild of the pioneering philanthropist Captain Thomas Coram. Instrumental in helping Coram realise his vision were the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel. In doing so they created London’s first public art gallery and set the template for the way that the arts could support philanthropy. The museum continues to celebrate their vision, by enabling artists to create a living dialogue between their forebears and vulnerable children today. The Foundling Museum encourages people to participate in this dialogue as visitors, collaborators and supporters. The Museum contains the Foundling Hospital Collection which spans four centuries and contains paintings, sculpture, prints, manuscripts, furniture, clocks, photographs and ephemera. The Museum also houses the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, the world’s largest private collection of Handel memorabilia and an internationally-important research resource. In addition to displaying the Collections, the Museum mounts three major temporary exhibitions a year, which illuminate different aspects of the Foundling Hospital story, alongside smaller displays, Collection interventions, artists’ commissions and projects.
Eligibility:
Any London based visual artist who has been practicing for a minimum of 5 years is eligible to apply.
Applicants must have their own workspace as studio space is not provided. Applicants may not be enrolled on a course of full time or part time study during the residency period.
Deadline: 10.00am Monday 4 August 2014
Interviews: Wednesday 27 August 2014
Successful candidate announced: Monday 1 September 2014
Residency period: 6 October – 14 December 2014
Residency public event: spring 2015
Read more:
[w] www.artquest.org.uk
Starting a craft business
NEDay Crafts is a craft business in the North East offering workshops, activity kits and online tutorials. NEDay’s Managing Director, Vicky Lloyd, spoke about the challenges of running your own craft business.
Vicky Doyle set up her business, NEDay Crafts, after deciding to find a way to bring craft workshops and tutorials to more people.
Switching careers to craft
“I grew up with Blue Peter, so I was always making stuff out of empty bottles as a child. But it never occurred to me I could make a business out of it,” says Vicky.
After leaving school, she went to work in office administration, and then retail.
“It was when I first had children that I started looking for craft activities or local craft clubs. I wanted to find things for them to do that didn’t involve sitting in front of the TV all day!”
Vicky couldn’t find anything available in the local area, despite thorough research.
“I’ve always adapted to changing times – that’s what you need to do to survive.”
“I also looked at major craft retailers, and the prices of the craft kits they were selling were ridiculous. Not only that, but what they contained was pathetic – really low-effort tasks that didn’t challenge children at all.
“I thought: 'maybe I can do something about this'.”
Vicky was becoming increasingly unhappy at work and finding most of her earnings went on childcare.
“I felt like I was missing out on the children’s lives. So I walked out of my full-time job and set up my own craft business.”
Setting up a craft business
Vicky had no experience with running a business, and initially had no idea how to go about it or where to go for help.
“I just saw a gap in the market and went for it.”
When she first set it up, NEDay Crafts primarily worked with children’s centres. Vicky also ran art and craft workshops for children and designed activity kits for sale to the public.
“The kits were based on the workshops I was running – all low-priced and very basic.”
As Vicky got going with her business she started assessing what worked and what didn’t.
“I was doing craft parties in the North East, with maybe 20 children each time. They lasted an hour, usually, but I might spend an hour each way just getting there.
“So I did less of those, and focused more on craft fairs and the craft kits.”
Finding new markets for craft
The business was going quite well, but then everything changed.
“Trade fairs and markets started diminishing, and people in general weren’t spending as much as they used to. I could see that my business model wasn’t going to work in this new climate.”
“It’s lovely to be inspiring my daughter. I’m sharing craft with her whilst also teaching her about business!”
So Vicky diversified again, focusing more on workshops with local councils. This worked well for a few months, but then the councils had their funding cut.
“That was a real crunch point for me. The contracts suddenly stopped, and they had made up about seventy per cent of my income. I didn’t know where else to look.”
“I saw it as make or break: workshops had dried up, parents didn’t have the money they used to. I needed a new approach.”
Using social media to develop a business
Vicky’s business mentor then encouraged her to get into blogging.
“The idea was basically to take the business online. I got a Twitter account, and redeveloped the website.”
The new website featured a prominent blog, where Vicky shared inspiration and tips for other businesses.
She also started selling online tutorials and resources.
“My approach across all social media was quite straightforward –
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http://ccskills.org.uk/careers/advice/article/starting-a-craft-busi...
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