This week we introduced the five founding members of the Cousin Creative Circle and I thought it would be fun to give our fans a little background on how the program started. I should start by introducing myself. My name is Phillip, Social Media Coordinator for Cousin and Prima Bead. I am the GUY behind scenes of all of our social media channels and I must say thank you to all of our wonderful, positive fans! I have to admit I have one of the best jobs in the world, and yes, I do make jewelry as well!
The concept of the Creative Circle was envisioned over a year ago by our Sales and Marketing Manager Liz Heggy. Her vision was a group of jewelry makers who could help lift the awareness of jewelry making and keep it relevant, enjoyable and innovative. The whole company jumped on board with excitement as the months passed and planning for the Creative Circle became more solidified. On May 11th, 2012, we embarked on our adventure by telling the nation we were accepting submissions.
Each week during the 6 week submission period the selection committee, including our Director of Design and Product Development, would meet. We would sit down in the conference room, review submissions and spend quality time on each application with in-depth dialogue. We loved seeing everyone’s wonderful creations and unique style and thought everyone was an artist in their own right. Personally, this was my favorite part of the process. Who knew so many people loved Cousin! Shortly after the June 25th submission end date, we gathered all the submissions that moved on to the second round of vetting and began the process all over again. Honestly we were overwhelmed with the number of submissions. We had no idea this new program would be so well received by the jewelry makers out there and that it took us the full 6 weeks to review all of them. Each committee member had their own opinion so it made the final decision difficult, because we could see everyone’s passion in their application and design work. In the end it was a fun discussion and I think we all won.
To everyone who did not make it this year, please know each of your submissions made our choices very difficult and to the five amazing ladies who make up our inaugural Cousin Creative Circle, you have a lot to be proud of.
~Phil~