Profile
Wellington jewellery designers, The Inspired Collection have just signed a contract with major Chinese jewellery company, Hiersun to create an exclusive collection for the Chinese market.
The collection will feature in more than 200 of Hiersun’s ‘I Do’ branded stores throughout China.
The Inspired Collection’s Creative Director, Ian Douglas stated he was thrilled to be working with such a highly respected and successful Chinese company.
Hiersun approached The Inspired Collection at the Hong Kong Jewellery Fair in September 2011.
“They liked our fresh and innovative designs and were keen to work with a company that pushed traditional boundaries, a philosophy we share with them.”
“We will be creating a series of bridal jewellery designs for I Do. The Western wedding concept has grown exponentially in China in the last ten years.”
“We aim to reflect a cultural sensibility in the designs and exhibit architectural elements that aren’t overly masculine or feminine. Our jewellery features clean lines that sometimes centres around a stone, which is set in an unencumbered style, with a minimum of metal,” says Mr Douglas.
Hiersun’s contract with The Inspired Collection is the third addition to their international range. High-end French jeweller, Philippe Tournaire and Swedish jeweller Efva Attling complete the trio.
The agreement with Hiersun further cements the internationally award-winning company as a global jewellery design hub. The Inspired Collection is currently in negotiations with leading jewellery companies in the UK, US and Canada.
“The opportunities for us are absolutely massive but we have to prove that our designs can work outside New Zealand. The success of our range in China is very much a ‘wait and see’ game. We’re taking one step at a time,” says Mr Douglas.
The Inspired Collection won the Gemological Institute of America’s supreme George A. Schuetz Award for Men’s Jewellery in 2010 and 2011. The team are also finalists in the Asian 2012 IU Inaugural Design Awards for coloured gem jewellery. They took the supreme award in the New Zealand Jewellery Design Awards in 2009 and 2010 and won a Bronze Pin in the 2011 The Best Awards from the Design Institute of New Zealand.
On 26 May The Inspired Collection’s Directors, Ian Douglas, Christine Douglas and Chris Benham will join Wellington’s Mayoral Delegation to China.
For further information contact The Inspired Collection team at info@theinspiredcollection.com or see their website www.theinspiredcollection.com
The Inspired Collection is the international arm of The Village Goldsmith, founded by Ian Douglas 30 years ago and both companies work closely together. All of the jewellery is designed locally in Wellington, New Zealand. The company’s design philosophy represents a distillation of the experience and collaboration of a group of artisanal award winning jewellers. Inspired Jewellery specializes in world leading innovative jewellery design and related concepts and provides its specialist design expertise and manufacturing experience to jewellery companies internationally. The company plans to grow its Wellington based design hub with The Village Goldsmith and continue to leverage its design IP internationally.
If you have a success story or opportunity doing business with China we would like to hear from you and share it with the NZCTA network. Please contact Luke Qin, Editor of China Now. luke.qin@nzcta.co.nz
May 15, 2012