Dec 2 2011

Made in the Jewellery Quarter – Exhibition Feb ’12.

After several months of work, collaborating with local businesses, negotiating exhibition space, tapping local universities for help I am very pleased to announce the launch of the Made in the Jewellery Quarter Exhibition Feb ’12.

David-Louis.com and three other local businesses have teamed up to display to the public a selection of our wares during February 2012, the exhibition will be held in the Gallery Space known as Art at Artful inside Artful Expression and The David-Louis Project.

at 23 Warstone Lane, The Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B18 6JQ.

The exhibition will showcase designs by Cufflink Couture, LJ Millington, David-Louis and Alabaster & Wilson, between us we have approx. 300 years of jewellery and product design knoweledge so the show case will be varied and beautiful

We have also launched a website with full details of the exhibition which can be visited by going to

https://madeinthejewelleryquarter.wordpress.com/


Oct 28 2008

David-Louis referred to by Trend Spotter website

I was delighted to see a website that I much admire, Springwise – Springwise and its network of 8,000 spotters scan the globe for smart new business ideas, delivering instant inspiration to entrepreneurial minds from San Francisco to Singapore. , refer to a competition entry I made a week or two ago on the Releasedonedotzero web site.

The competition itself is quite exciting and is using what is now being referred to as crowd sourcing and can be summarised as using your clients to supply designs and product for brands they aspire too. Although I don’t think that is exactly what is happening as I and the other entrants do seem to be career or budding career product designers it is some way to the truth as it is open to concepts as well as products.

Although it does reinforce what I would consider to be the an ultimate truth, creative people buy cretive products from creative people, I find that creative individuals  can be the first port of call for launching a niche product and then brought toward the mainstream as the product begins its life cycle, of niche, wider audience, less expensive and ultimately entering the mainstream culture where it can become ubiquitous.

The winning products in the releasedonedotzero competition will be sold at design museums around the world alongside the affiliated web site and be paid a royalty over the years which is quite a nice prize – so keep an eye here and if I never mention it again – I didn’t win…. hee hee.

Some other nice thing going on too, went to the bloggers meet yesterday and met some new faces, debated some finer points of Blogging and nicely submerged myself in a cross culture which sits between, pub, blog, innovative business practice and of course some banter so it’s well worth going.

A discussion I did have with Nick Booth was based around establishing a creative Blogging community within the Jewellery Quarter and also the use of word press to build web sites which would be really useful to emerging artists and creatives so I will be championing this approach over the coming months to all and sundry - lets see what happens. I was hoping to meet Chris Unitt of Created in Birmingham there but didn’t get a chance, I will look harder next time.

I would hope eventually makers, retailers, School of Jewellery students, design space members, Centerpiece exhibitors, Brilliantly Birmingham and other businesses would blog about their approach to business, their products and create a scene online that will filter to the real world and back again. 

Finally, to begin that type of activity I am pleased to say I have been handed the keys (at least the spare set) of the blog for the new upcoming, much lauded Jewellery Quarter website which will be launched late November – just in time for Christmas, I suspect I will be promoting makers, events, heritage and little known niches of the Jewellery Quarter on the blog with a view to raising curiosity levels and dragging all and sundry to the Jewellery Quarter, from near, far and wide just to see… just to see….


Oct 8 2008

David-Louis 2.0′ing and growing…

As Roots Manuva said ‘we are up to everything and into everything’ at the moment, The shop in the jewellery quarter in expanding now and we have take on a budding designer maker ‘ Clare Victoria Pardoe’ is now managing the retail out let which is called.. You guessed it ‘ The David Louis project AT Artful Expression’.

I am hoping the new appointment will create a new profile for the shop and attract both customers and new designer makers as suppliers. The shop is in the Jewellery Quarter at 23 Warstone Lane, B18 6JQ – drop in any time and I’ll give you the scoop on each maker we stock and the history of the local area – just ask for David-Louis

The corporate side of the business, Gifts of Distinction is growing and we have introduce new Computer Aided Design skill base with the taking on of an intern, Shah ALi, a local student on his gap year – this is really exciting and attracting high profile clients which due to discretion and professional practice I am unable to mention specifically….

I see on my way to work today they are filming the advert for the new Jewellery Quarter (Web site not launched yet!!! – but is definitely on the way) TV campaign for the run up to Christmas, so keep an eye on your TV and don’t forget to mention the advert WHEN you visit the Jewellery Quarter on the run up to Christmas….. You will visit the Jewellery Quarter won’t you… yes you will :-)

I will finish off now just saying that I am commissioning the production of another video at the moment featuring our new Spaghetti Measuring Device have a look the product- its too cool for cats.

Ooops – the reason I called this post 2.0ing and more is we are attempting to link Delicious, our facebook account, our blog and twitter (Twitter ID ‘DavidLouisDsign’) together – so you can Link, FB, blog and tweet us any time (in theory).

David-Louis.


Jul 18 2008

David-Louis Post Grad Goes Green Grazy at Design Space

Design Space West midlands – does this sound familiar?  Well probably not but this is something you should know about and it is based here in the Jewellery Quarter (JQ Web site up and coming so watch out for the link) in Birmingham,

·     19 designers,

·     1 full year,

·     Business mentoring,

·     Free workshop,

·     Free business training to NVQ level.

An excellent opportunity for emerging creatives from anywhere in the world to come to, as far as I am concerned, the creative capital. (I won’t say the creative capital of where, as it is just THE creative capital).

This week I have been mostly interviewing applicants for this excellent programme along side my other panel members, Jewellery Designer Maker Katherine Campbell Legg and Kerry O’Connor Designer and Maker of Silver and Ceramics. We met nearly 40 applicants, over 4 days and have had the hard task of understanding their goals and vision and allocating appropriate help to the most deserving – the results are not out yet but watch this space as these people are IT.

Imagine that, 19 new business people, creatives, in one hub, starting on the same day, the race is on and I wish them the best of luck. I hope to blog about them all at one time or another over the coming year.

 

On another note I am pleased to say I am half way through my MA in Media Enterprise and have just received notification that I have now achieved my Post Graduate Certificate – 1 year to go…..

So here is my interesting link for the day, I have seen one or two of these around Birmingham and really like it, I don’t really think this is actually carbon neutral but it is ECO Chic not ECO Geek - It does what it says on the tin – Green Graffiti.