What's NOW! - Big, Bold & Chunky

As you may or may not know, I ventured out the Henri Bendel Open See in March...again.  You can read about the first adventure here.  

This time we showed our big, chunky bracelets and chokers dripping with crystals, druszy's, agates, geodes, etc...; crystal encrusted knuckle dusters and (the original) #1 selling "personalized" double banner ring.  We were sure to leave the skulls at home as they are "too edgy" for the Bendel Girl - I know this from the previous Open See visit.  {If you're not sure who the Bendel Girl is then just watch Isla Fischer in Confessions of a Shopoholic; 2009 -- just kidding, but I do love that move so}

The buyer immediately picked up the personalized rings, looking at them curiously, as I knew she would.  She moved on to the bracelets and chokers, looked up at me and said "Great pieces, but your chains are too big for us".  With that it was time to move to the left & let the next indie designer hoping for a Trunk Show through.

Niki Minaj in XXL Magazine

Once again MerCurios was passed over by Henri Bendel, and once again MerCurios proved that we are ahead of the trend.  How? Why with the big, chunky chains of course.  All the celebrities from Lady Gaga to Beyonce to you name it - they are all seen wearing huge chains around their necks - at the beach or on the town.  Big, Bold Chunky chains are IN, HOT, HIP & NOW!

Beyonce taken at LAX

Guess what?  We will be going back to the Open See for a third time.  What can I say, being rejected by Bendel's is good for business.

Henri Bendel "Open See" Recap

It's official, I'm "Too Edgy" for Henri Bendel.  As you may, or may not know, on Friday, March 26, I dragged my behind out of bed at 4 am to get to the Henri Bendel "Open See".  I arrived on the line at 7:30 in the morning and there were at least 100 people on line in front of me already.  True to their word, at 9 AM the line started moving and we were shuffled in to the building in groups of 20.   ...escorted downstairs to wait on another line to sign in by category of business, from there we went to a waiting room, where Henri Bendel graciously provided coffee and tea.

It is not an exaggeration when I tell you, of the hundreds of people that showed up for the open see, at least 95% were jewelry vendors.  At around 12:30, I got my five minutes to pitch my product to one of the accessory buyers.  She flipped through my catalog, looked at 5 of the 7 trays I brought, looked up at me and said "you're too edgy for us".

"Too edgy", hmmm...I can not tell you that I did not see that coming, because I did.  My items are somewhat sophisticated, yet definitely edgy.  In a word "chaotically couture".  However, I got out of it what I wanted; the experience and the exposure.  The preparation for this meeting also forced me to create the wholesale catalog that I was putting off for ages.  With the new product and catalog finished MerCurios is ready for the next chapter, with wonderful things on the horizon.