My blog is going to give you, the reader, an idea of what is going on in my little world of  fun, whimsical, affordable jewels. I visit trade shows, talk with other designers, and like to know what going on in lots of aspect of design.  My husband, Dale Denkensohn, is a clothing designer and  President of Econscious (www.econscious.net), an organic and sustainable apparel company. The creative part of our businesses is the aspect that we prefer most, although it certainly isn’t the part that we get to spend the most time on. I’m sure you understand how that goes. We do like to share stories and ideas and frustrations alike…it add perspective to our lives.

I recently attended the California Gift Show in Los Angeles. I’ve been going to this show for many years so I have an idea of what to expect and of how it changes based on the industry as a whole and the economy.

The L.A. Gift show was a shadow of its former self.  The economy has forced many companies to cut budgets and attending the trade shows is absolutely part of those cuts. With the limited number of exhibitors, it’s hard to know what type of trends, ideas, products are really out there. But, I’ll give you an overview from my perspective.  Just so you know, I attend this show to look for resources that may compliment my jewelry at Elocquinn. For example, the pouches that you receive when you purchase a piece from me are from a woman who I met at the show many years ago. They are made from old Sari’s from India in the most beautiful colors and patterns and threads that I have seen. Instead of using traditional jewel boxes, I prefer to offer the pouches as fabric jewels that can be used to take your necklaces and bracelets with you on your travels, to the gym or simply to store your treasures away.

That’s the kind of resource I look for. This year there were very few of these finds. Most of the booths displayed candles and seasonal items and costume jewelry that I found to be unappealing. I did, however, find a woman who makes pieces very much to my taste. She loves making necklaces with small drops and charms and keeps the prices very affordable. She doesn’t want to sell direct to the consumer so I think we can make a good team.  I will put some of her work on elocquinn.com in a couple of weeks and see what you think.