MJSA ConFab conference slated in November

MJSA plans to host its second MJSA ConFab conference November 3 at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. The MJSA is an association dedicated to professional excellence in jewelry making and design.

The event will include a full-day of ‘profit lessons’ for jewelry makers and designers, and will feature some of the industry’s top designers, marketers, contractors, and consultants, offering insights that get to the heart of what it takes to run a successful business.

Among the topics and presenters for the 2013 conference will be – ‘Creating Your Own Niche,’ in which Andrea Hill—current president of the StrategyWerx consulting firm and former CEO of Rio Grande, will demonstrate how to identify market opportunities and develop a unique brand that appeals to those prospective customers. There will be special guest appearances by renowned designers Lisa Jenks, Alex Woo and Jessica Kagan Cushman. Hill will also present ‘Sales Skills for the Selling-Challenged,’ in which attendees will take part in a series of games that demonstrate how to describe a product’s selling points powerfully, and match those selling points to prospects’ needs.

Ted Doudak of Riva Precision Manufacturing and Daniel Grandi of RaceCar Jewelry Co. will face off in ‘Can You Make This? Subcontracting Made Simple.’ It will be moderated by Peggy Jo Donahue, the director of public affairs at MJSA. Both the experienced jewelry makers will answer questions.

Designer Lisa Jenks, and Scott and Minter Richter, will present ‘Maintaining Margins When Creating Designs in Low-Cost Metals’, in a discussion moderated by MJSA Journal's editor-in-chief, Tina Wojtkielo Snyder.

Cindy Edelstein, ‘The Jewelry Biz Guru,’ will host “Creating a Digital Marketing Plan.” Guests Eugene Brill, the director of marketing for the Jewelry.com division at the Richline Group; Matthew A Perosi, the founder of the Jeweler Website Advisory Group (jWAG); and Donahue, who manages MJSA’s social networking, will discuss how to integrate all aspects of a business’s online activities into a cohesive presence that sends a powerful message to current and prospective customers.

Concluding the activites will be the ConFab Connect, in which attendees will have the chance to speak with the presenters and sponsors face-to-face, and network with each other.

MJSA ConFab is sponsored by the MJSA Education Foundation (Prime Sponsor), Richline Group (Benefactor), Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, Riva Precision Manufacturing, Rio Grande and Cindy Edelstein.