How the Neiman Marcus catalog shaped Guilded Grey's design today

Long before I had officially started making jewelry to sell (that's another post) I was working with a friend designing wine charms. This was way before they really hit the market and we designed a few pieces for a local show. When a good friend suggested I send them to catalogs (pre-internet pitching) we decided to package them up and send them to an editor at Neiman Marcus.

I had no idea what was about to happen or I may have not had the courage to send the samples. I quickly found myself in business supplying the store and Christmas catalogue with thousand of sets per week. Learning on the fly is an understatement but learn we did and we ran that little business for almost two years. What I learned beyond the sourcing, production and large account maintenance of the business was that the quality had to be perfect.

We made a promise to ourselves to check and recheck every single charm that left the studio. We hired help and wire wrapped every single charm. I'm still crazy proud that out of 1000's of orders we only had 2 returns. 

Today all of our chains and designs are wire wrapped to make sure each and every bead and component are secure. It's time consuming and labor intensive but I'm still committed to the quality that helped launch Guilded Grey.