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c o n t e m p l a t i o n s a n d i n s p i r a t i o n s o f a n a r t i s a n j e w e l r y d e s i g n e r

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Interviewed in my Studio

I was fortunate to have Stewart Pittman of FOX8 News interview and film me working in my studio.  They posted it on their website... to watch it, click here.

Thanks Stewart for doing such a nice job, and to my friend Kevin Daniels for recommending it.

Here is the text of what they published with this:

GREENSBORO, N.C. - For the last five years, Judith Altman has spent her days in her studio on Friendly Ave., crafting one-of-a-kind jewelry that others will soon cherish. But it wasn't always like that for Altman, who spent time in senior management before following her dreams of designing jewelry.

"I like to think of them as something a woman buys and wears to express herself and her style," says Altman, who fashions large, distinctive pieces from gemstones and artifacts collected from around the world.

"It's just a personal passion that I've always had and wanted to do myself and found that it worked for me," she says.

And has it. Since launching her own line, Altman has sold her jewelry as far away as Saudi Arabia.

"In many ways, it has exceeded what I thought it would be and, in many ways, it's been enormously more challenging than I thought it would be," she says.

With her signature collection retailing for between $300 and $600, Altman sells most of her work in galleries, art museum stores and high-end boutiques across the country. But for Altman, the sale isn't savored as much as the connection to her clients.

"The most rewarding thing is to see someone putting a piece of my jewelry on. It's not just about me and my creative process, but now I've connected with another person and it makes them feel good, so that's the reward right there," she says.

Another reward for Altman is traveling the globe to find the many components her imagination calls for. Otherwise, you'll find her in her Greensboro studio, creating world-class jewelry made right here in North Carolina.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Musings

Waiting out the economic recovery, I notice that there are some behaviors and concerns on the part of the consumer that have shifted, and may live beyond the (hopefully) inevitable recovery. The fast paced, fast food, mass produced, high volume world just seems to have less appeal and there seems to be a growing and welcomed interest in local, crafted, individualized products and service providers.  I, of course, couldn't be happier!  There is clearly a greater interest in value and quality.  Cheap, mass produced products are less satisfying and seem almost cartoon-like now.  The process of finding locally made/grown/provided products is gratifying in and of itself. The exclusivity of a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind product appeals to something deeper in us.  An interaction and relationship with a person who actually makes something - boutique winemaker, jewelry designer, artisan baker - draws us.  As a designer and creator of products that each hold a little bit of me in each of them, I am gratified by this shift.