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Event Calendar

Thursday, April 11, 2019

WJA Austin | IN THE KNOW | Selling Wholesale With The Experts

Start Date: 4/11/2019 6:00 PM CDT
End Date: 4/11/2019 8:30 PM CDT

Venue Name: ACC Highland Campus

Location:
6101 Highland Campus Dr. Austin, TX, 78752
AUSTIN, TX  United States  78752

Organization Name: WJA Austin

Contact:
Jodis Strother
Email: jodis@throckmortons.biz
Phone: ?(512) 789-0541?


 

Selling Wholesale with the Experts
Preparing Collections for Wholesale + Market Essentials


A Jewelry + Accessories Industry Expert Panel on Preparing Your Collection for Wholesale and Retail Sale; What to Expect on Both Sides

Join the Women’s Jewelry Association Austin Chapter as it hosts 5 industry experts in sharing imperative facts, challenges, and advice about preparing a designer collection for wholesale market. Topics include essential wholesale preparations; dealing with buyers, stores and sales reps; wholesale market applications, costs, general expectations; and more. Learn from these veterans about the ins and outs of wholesale and what it takes to succeed.
 
Panelists include Christine Fail of Fail Jewelry and Leigh Navarro of Leigh Elena, both of whom are wholesalers as well as retail store owners and buyers; jewelry designer Suzie Gallehugh of Suzanna Dai; veteran wholesale accessories showroom owner Julie Biegel of Julie Hall Showroom at Dallas Market Center; and brand and business consultant Robin Kramer of Red Boot Consulting and Flourish and Thrive Academy.
 
Moderated by the Creative Side Jewelry Academy’sfounder Courtney Gray, this is a must-attend event for anyone wanting to learn more about how retail buyers shop, and how to thrive in a wholesale capacity.




Thursday, April 11 @ 6 pm 
Austin Community College Highland Campus

Building 4000, North Entrance, Lower Level Atrium

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GET TICKETS:

$45 Members

$55 for Guests

Snacks and Light Refreshments Will Be Served

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Tickets at the door
$55 members
Students $35 with student ID
$65 non-members

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Buy tickets online through 4 / 10


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Read More About Our Panelists:

 
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Moderator
Courtney Gray is the creative force behind Creative Side Jewelry Academy in Austin, Texas, which is one of the most forward-thinking jewelry schools in the US. Within 10 years of her career in custom jewelry, welding, and metal sculpture Courtney decided to open the doors of her studio in 2006 for other jewelry artists to collaborate, share equipment, learn, and expand their knowledge. The school now hosts almost 2,000 students per year and offers over 75 courses. Courtney has been invited to speak at the Society of North American Goldsmiths Conference as an education dialogue Session Group Leader in 2016 and 2018. She is currently on the board of Bead and Button and Rio Grande Jewelry Supply Advisory board.
 
 
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Panelists:
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Leigh Elena Navarro is a native Texan and current Austinite. For Leigh, pursuing the art of crafting jewelry has been more than just a career goal; it has been a lifetime in the making. Originally from El Paso, Leigh began learning the processes for fusing enamel and glass together at the young age of five from her mother, Susan, a talented enamelist herself. As Leigh’s passion and experience for hand-crafting jewelry grew, so did her business. Leighelena is also not only a wholesale jewelry line but also a branded retail storefront. Her love of travel and all things “glittery” has help her mold her three Central Texas-based storefronts: her first flagship location in Austin on the famed South Congress strip, a thriving location at the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio, and a new “Austin General Store" pop-up in Austin’s 2nd St District downtown.  
In each store you will find the full collection of Leighelena, as well as a myriad of gifts, souvenirs and other unique, handcrafted jewelry from.  around the world.  Leigh has also been exhibiting at countless juried retail and wholesale shows around the US for over 15 years. Leigh is an active WJA Member.
 
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Julie Biegel is the CEO + founder / owner of Julie Hall, Inc. wholesale accessories showroom, located in the Dallas Market Center. 
She has over 25+ years of wholesale and retail experience, and has worked with hundreds of jewelry and accessory clients and retail business throughout her career. She has a keen eye and expert business sense for which products and collections could be commercially successful. 
Julie has developed and grown the businesses of hundreds of her partner designers and business owners, connecting each with successful products and maintaining thriving, ongoing business relationships. Her knowledge and expertise is wide and deep and includes wholesale and retail development, contract negotiation, product development, sales, and more.
 
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Robin Kramer is a brand marketing maven, natural business nurturer, master of relationships and a sales expert who has an impressive history with leaders in the retail industry that have built their brands on innovative merchandising and strong service cultures. 
Among these brands is Williams-Sonoma, Inc. where she utilized her operations management background to develop and refine the process of opening new stores during a period of rapid expansion across that organization’s three retail brands: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barnand Hold Everything.  Kramer overhauled the store's associate recognition program; she also led the customer service functions for all retail brands, including the development and implementation of service standards in stores and call centers. She went on to implement similar programs and new initiatives at another forward-thinking retail brand, the Old Navy division of Gap, Inc. 
 
For the past 18 plus years, Robin has worked with primarily small, upscale wholesale jewelry brands and designers to bring their products to market, position these niche brands for maximum exposure to their target customers and build relationships with national and international retailers. One such brand was Dogearedwhere she helped them grow from a small company into a well-known jewelry brand with sales growth of over 800% in the five years she was there. She has a keen eye for recognizing products and designs that represent a unique and fresh approach in a crowded and competitive spaceIn 2012 Robin co-founded and launched Flourish & Thrive Academy, an online educational platform for jewelry designers. She has a passion for helping creatives go after their dreams and for red boots. She divides her time between Sausalito, CA and Dallas, TX. Robin is an active WJA Member.
 
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Suzie Gallehugh is CEO Owner of Suzanna Dai Designs and debuted the Suzanna Dai collection in the Spring of 2009 in New York City.  Since then, she has been wholesaling the collection to dozens of independent boutiques, including Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Moda Operandi, and Anthropologie, among others.  The Suzanna Dai line has garnered press in national and international publications such as Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, In Style, and has been seen on several celebrities including Michelle Obama, Blake Lively, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alicia Keys, Elizabeth Hurley, and Giuliana Rancic.  Suzanna Dai has done collaborations with the W Hotels, LOFT, and in 2013 partnered with Giuliana Rancic and LOFT to design a capsule collection promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Suzie is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and began her design career in New York City after attending the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Suzie lived in NYC for 13 years, and in 2013, she returned to Austin, where she now lives with her miniature dachshund Chloe.  
 
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Christine Fail is CEO and Designer of Fail Collective and the designer behind Fail Jewelry.  With a BFA in studio art Christine’s background if firmly rooted in art and design.  Her introduction into the world of fine jewelry came from working for two of Austin's top fine jewelers– Anthony Nak and Shaesby where she learned the trade and business of jewelry. In 2009 Christine was laid off, and it was the best thing that ever happened to her.
 
Christine started with a tiny retail store in South Austin and a small collection of handmade jewelry which has since grown to include a storefront in East Austin, a production studio, and an ever-growing list of wholesale partners worldwide.  As a lifelong student, Christine loves the challenge of learning and continues to bring new techniques, ideas, and principles into her business.  For her, the creativity of problem-solving in business can be just as rewarding as sitting down to carve a wax or sketch new designs.  
 
A resident of Austin for 20+ years, Christine has called East Austin home for 12 years and is the community where she has rooted her studio and store.  When not in the studio you can find Christine working on a never-ending remodel of her East Austin home, building furniture in her father’s garage, enjoying a Magnum and bowl of queso at the Texas Chili Parlor, or snuggling up with her husband Andrew, dog Dunkin and barn cat Banjo. Christine is an active WJA Member.
 

 
 

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Registration is Closed
Closed: 4/11/2019 12:00 PM

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