New Collection: Modern Relics 2015 available for pre-order on Kickstarter!

You can view the Kickstarter HERE! Please help spread the word! Thank you so much for your support! 

I've been making my "Modern Relics” since 2008 and now I feel like I’m pulling my own designs forward, simplifying them, and making them even more contemporary and wearable. It's been such a joy to put these together. 

I’ve never made an entire collection before. I generally, slowly try out new ideas, one at a time. A few years ago I launched such an idea, my Chakra Kahn Wraps with Kickstarter and they were successfully funded. It enabled me to begin to see how to really grow my business. It was a way to dip my toe into the pool. 

Last year I developed my wholesale line and got into 17 shops. Over the past few months, my goal was to design a line of killer necklaces that would really “wow” buyers and round out my line.

Now I’m taking a leap! My first wholesale tradeshow - NY NOW (formerly the NY International Gift Show) at the Javits center this August. Taking on this enormous show is diving into the deep end of the pool!

In return for your help getting me to this next level, you'll get these pieces before stores and at a discounted price!  Plus this would be a great way to really debut this new line and properly launch it into the world! The funds gathered will help with the production of the line, right here in Vermont and help to fund the costs for doing such a huge trade show (booth fees, booth set up, travel expenses, catalogs, advertising…)

I’m moving into my own REAL studio in the South end in June. I’m hoping to have a kickoff party there as well as have the whole line on display. Locals might even be able to pick up their rewards at that time.

3 More Stores!

2014 is coming to a close... I had my best shows ever this holiday season. Thanks so much for all the jewelry love! Feeling extremely thrilled and a bit exhausted. Somehow over the last few weeks I've even gotten into a few more stores, which brings the total to 17(!!!) 10 of which are in Vermont. 

You can now find my work at Axel's Frame Shop in Waterbury. 
This shop is part frame shop and also a gallery and they have a growing section of local, handmade work. The wonderful owner, Whitney Aldrich has been trying to get my jewelry for several years now so it's great to finally make it happen. She picked a perfect selection of silver and brass earrings and a few necklaces. What a fun place to check out before heading to eat at Pro Pig! She curates group shows and solo shows so there's always something fresh to find there.

Some of the pieces she chose.

Heather Turnbull opened a very cool looking shop in Rutland this year called Pure.Original. She carries handmade and unique gifts from Vermont and beyond as well as funky rare vintage finds. She ordered some of my earrings at my last show which will soon be there and at her new shop, of the same name, that's opening in Killington this week! 

You can now find some of my more spiritual necklaces at Yogarama. The Chakra Kahn line is growing! 

 

When you're there be sure to pet this little muppet. Chloe!!!

It was so much fun to stroll by Spellbound and see my necklace on the mannequin in the window!

 Love seeing Kahn Man on display inside too. 

Stopped by Trinket too and they are running out of work so be sure to get it while you can! If you're a real down-to-the-wire shopper and you're looking for places in Vermont that carry my work... here's some other shops where you can find it:

Stowe Craft Gallery - Stowe

The Shoe Horn - Montpelier

Stoweflake Spa - Stowe, VT

The Gallery in the Woods - Brattleboro

Common Deer - Shelburne
I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and I wish you a splendid New Year. xo

Where to Find My Work this Holiday Season - Shops, Shows and Sales!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm very excited to be a vendor at the Women's Festival of Crafts this weekend. This is always a wonderful show, now in it's 25th year, I think it's my 8th year! Find me at booth 42, I'm sharing my booth with Molly and it is her first show, come drool over her gorgeous rings! 

 You can also find my work in 7 shops across the state and 7 shops across the country! 

 I'm giving out lil JK jute gift bags with purchase at the show this weekend. I'll also have special re-usable gift tins. 

Trinket is fully stocked for the holiday season. Rachel picked a huge selection of earrings. 

 Trinket and Sweet Lady Jane and Spellbound, as well as many other shops on Church St are all taking part in #ShopSmallBTV

 Spellbound is also having a sale, 20% off all full price items store wide - which means you can get my Kahn Man line on sale!

Taking Stock...

As I sit here...procrastinating from cleaning my studio, I'm reflecting on this past Artist Market season. This is the first year I haven't attended every market and this is the first year I started wholesaling. I loved having the ebb and flow of markets and store orders. I would think how well it worked out that one week I would have the market and the next I would fulfill an order and then realize that it worked out like that cause I scheduled it like that! 
•It's really nice to not have a weather dependent income and to have some Saturdays off! 
•It's also nice to be able to transition to something new but maintain the stability (and joy!) of the market. 
•Doing fewer markets made all of them good markets! Instead of ups and downs they were all really great and I'm so thankful for that.
You can read about how I made the switch HERE.

New 3 Piece Turquoise collar necklace and new Sterling Hoops

I started the year with my work in Trinket (where it has been since Rachel opened in '09) and the Stowe Craft Gallery where I had my work last holiday season.

When it came to finding new shops, I figured my best bet was to focus on Vermont. The Shoe Horn had been trying to get my work for a few years and they were happily on board to represent me in Montpelier. Then I got into Common Deer in Shelburne and then the Stoweflake Spa reached out and ordered. I contacted one of my favorite galleries, Gallery in the Woods in Brattleboro and they ordered too. This was a great start and it gave me the confidence and credibility to seek out shops in New England.

I did a lot of research. For every artsy/hip/funky/bohemian town I would look for a cool boutique and a shop that carried handmade goods. I would send both emails and catalogs and hope that one would write me back and this often worked! One of my favorite shops I've found is Ode. In July, instead of doing a market on a Saturday, I did a trunk show on a Friday at Ode and then they became an account.

Wherever we travelled, I set up appointments, some of those shops will be carrying my work next year. I managed to get my wraps into an Oxygen bar and my earrings into a beautiful shop, Maya in Santa Fe. 

I also had my share of rejections but there's no time to get upset about those. I would just cast a wider net, write more shops and move forward...plenty of shops in the sea!

I've had 3 Etsy wholesale orders since getting juried in last May. Each one has been super exciting, especially not having to make the effort to find the shop - they find me! And they just order! And it's gotten Colorado -T.Karn Imports, Washington D.C. -Wake Up Little Suzie, and Maine -Nest on the map! 

Montana from Trinket recommended my work to Magpie in NYC and Earth and Wears was carrying my chakra wraps and she just picked up my earrings. 

So now I'm in 13 shops! And most are ordering for the holidays and I'm just a tad... slightly... FREAKED OUT!!! Luckily I have my two interns, Molly and Fiona to help out. So thankful for them, I don't know what I would do without them. I can take a break from looking for new shops now and focus on the ones I'm in, I'll resume the search next year. Meanwhile more random Etsy Wholesale orders could come through so that's exciting/terrifying.

This year I'm taking it easy on shows, just the Women's Festival of Crafts and the Holiday Artist Market. I usually do 4 but I have to make room for shop orders. 

So that's where I'm at. Feeling super proud at getting to this point. Feeling like I've taken a huge leap forward in my business. Excited to send my little babies out into the world to fend for themselves, they are in great care in these gorgeous shops and galleries. 

I guess it's time to clean my studio...

Winners!

So last week I held my first Instagram Contest and it was super fun! There were over 25 submissions and it was so close! Laina won for most likes, here is her fab photo: 

Maureen won for best overall jewelry photo. I chose this one for the high image quality, pieces, arrangement, color and background. This was not an easy decision so many great photos. Laina and Maureen each won a $100 gift certificate for my Etsy shop. All participants get 10% off in my Etsy shop. 

 Here are some other awesome submissions that show the jewelry really well:

Melissa sent in this one of her collection.

Andrea took this one among water worn rocks

And this great under water shot!

Alanna sent this lovely photo of Chakra Wraps taken in the Caribbean.

Kristi submitted this earthy photo of her collection hanging on a reclaimed door display that her husband made for her.
Thanks to all who participated! I will definitely be doing more contests...

Contest Time!

Via Instagram... Starting right now - through Friday at 5:00pm (EST)

All participants have the option of getting a 10% coupon code for use in my Etsy shop. 2 winners will get a $100 gift certificate in my Etsy shop!

All you have to do is:

>>>Follow: @jenkahnjewelry

>>>Share:  photo of you or someone else wearing Jennifer Kahn Jewelry, or a photo of your Jennifer Kahn Jewelry Collection! 

>>>Tag:  @jenkahnjewelry in the photo and include #jenkahnjewelry 

>>>Enjoy:  10% off discount code in my Etsy shop. Contact me for the code, just send me the link to your post. 

[note: This only works if your profile is public]

>>>Prizes:  $100 Jennifer Kahn Jewelry gift certificate for use in my Etsy shop to my favorite photo, I really want to be able to see the jewelry as well as a good overall quality image.

and a $100 Jennifer Kahn Jewelry gift certificate for use in my Etsy shop to the photo that receives the most likes in the contest. Check the hashtag often and support your favorite photos!

Ready, set, GO!

Playing with Displaying

It's always important to freshen things up... I just got a new banner that I love. I thought -Why not have big images so folks can see my work from a distance and find me easily? I've also realized that I can pivot my framed earring displays out which opens up my booth and looks so much better, sometimes it's those little things that can make such a difference.

T. Karn Imports is using a lovely wood frame to display the earrings I just sent them. Tesha chose such a great combination of pieces. 

She's displaying these necklaces on some rustic dark wood, I love the contrast.

I wanted to revamp my necklace displays so I got crafty and bought some bamboo cutting boards and nailed leather (scraps from a jacket) to them. I dig the combo of the leather and the wood and the badassness of the nails. These displays feel edgier and show the necklaces off better than the displays I was using.

Right now, aside from working on store orders, I'm busy sending catalogs out and trying to get into some new shops. I'll be in Santa Fe in a few weeks and NYC and Rhode Island in August. Let me know if you have any suggestions for great shops in those areas!

New Shops!

So excited! I now have a "Stockists" page on my website with 6 shops my jewelry is currently in and 2 that I'm about to be in! 

Last week I dropped off Common Deer's first order. This cute shop is located right in Shelburne and they have a great mix of new and vintage.
Can't wait to see it on display and on their website. I love that you can shop right from their site.

I also sent a batch to The Gallery in the Woods  in Brattleboro. I've loved that gallery for so long. They have have such a great selection of Art Jewelry and I'm so thrilled to have my work there among such amazing artists.

I just got into my first NYC shop (Yay!) located on the Upper West Side. Thanks so much to Montana at Trinket for suggesting they carry my work.

The Shoe Horn in Montpelier sold half of the earrings I sent in the first week they were there! So I just sent them their 2nd order. Happy to see they made it their cover photo on Facebook.

In other news, the Commune Contest is getting intense! Only a few days left of the FEED NEED NOT GREED competition and the VOTE COUNTER IS NOW LIVE. Over 700 votes have been cast so far, which means Commune will donate $700 to projects that help alleviate hunger among tobacco growing communities in Malawi, Africa.

For more details and to VOTE click here: http://bit.ly/Commune-Feed-Need-Not-Greed You can VOTE once per day. Voting ends May 5th. Thanks for all who have voted for me! I so appreciate it!

A New Year, A New Line Emerging... the year of the Wrapture.

I've had the idea to make arm/boot cuffs for a couple of years but it's pretty much been simmering on the back burner. Many things have aligned for me to finally move forward with this. Last fall I bought an old Singer sewing machine. Found it at a barn sale right in town. It came with a beautiful wood table that it folds down into. It's one from the 1920's and it works so well. Best part, it sews leather which really opened the door for this new line.

I've also been eager to make an attempt at combining the best of the fashion world with the best of the jewelry world. (Maybe even have a fashion show!) While in NYC over NYE we stopped in an amazing trim shop and I bought some feather trim, some lace and leather and from there the idea really took off.

My new line is called:
Wrap·ture
n.1. To cover, envelop or encase in something that gives way to feelings of ecstasy.

I've been pretty wrapped up in it too! For 2 weeks I've had my sewing machine crankin' and piles of leather and fabric scattered around. I made 7 to start and through them have learned so much about how I want these pieces to work.

I've always loved getting 2 for 1's or items that reverse or transform (including transformer's as a kid!). So it was important to me that these pieces be really versatile. They can be worn so many different ways which really adds to their value.

I see this as being great adornment for the global nomad. A piece of jewelry that you can move from arm-to-boot-to-calf, maybe head, depending on your mood, outfit, desire. The thin wrap even detaches from the thick wrap and can be worn separately as a wrist wrap or anklet. Such a great travel piece.

Made of Silver and stones, brass, upcycled leather, feathers, silk, tribal fabrics and lace. These designer wraps are bigger, bolder and brighter than typical jewelry and can adorn many places on the body. Yet they are more substantial then a mere accessory. Hand made, with silver hand stitched, each one's a unique work of wearable art.

I love this look. Very Warrior Goddess.

My boots are really simple and I love the idea of dressing them up, and being able to change them up.

Which made me realize, you don't need the boot! In warmer weather this would make a great calf cuff.

The Wrap is made up of 2 components and the inner wrap can detach and be worn on it's own on the wrist. It fits 3 times around.
x
Or it could be an anklet, wrapped twice around.

Just wanted to share where I'm at with this so far...I'll debut them this spring. Gotta figure out pricing and such, but for now I'm really excited!