Kumu Museum, Tallin, Estonia, photo: Susan Cummins

So now we are in the summer doldrums. All the excitement of the spring--the conferences, fairs, graduate programs, Amsterdam signups, applications for the AJF Artist Award--is behind us. Let's take some time to relax and think of all the people who make our lives just a little bit better. I haven't thanked people in my letter for a long time, and so I thought this might be the perfect opportunity.

I want to thank the board and volunteers of AJF, especially Susan Kempin and Linda Peshkin for planning the Amsterdam trip, Susan Kempin (again) and Gail Hufjay for organizing the AJF artist award, Linda Peshkin (again) and Raissa Bump for helping on the new AJF brochure, Doug Bucci for working with the artists on the AJF pins, Marion Fulk for monitoring the books, Bella Neyman for persisting in organizing the Speakers Tour for the fall, and Jenni Sorkin, Sienna Patti, and Liesbeth den Besten for their perspectives on the publication committee.

Then, of course, we are all indebted to the great staff here led by the main brain Ben Lignel who commissions articles for the website, the diligent and delightful Marthe Le Van who proofreads all the numerous texts and doubles as our Facebook attendant, the über-organized Rebekah Frank who posts everything you see on the website and in Constant Contact, and last but not least the enthusiastic Joy Martin, bookkeeper and membership manager. What a great team!

Platina Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden

Again this year, I was traveling in June. This time I visited several great jewelers in Stockholm, Sweden, and I must thank Sofia Björkman from Platina gallery for introducing me to a variety of people there. It was fantastic. I also spent some time in Tallinn, Estonia, with Kadri Mälk, Tanel Veenre, and several of their students. Kadri, too, was kind enough to arrange visits with other jewelers, curators, and museum directors. I was very touched by everyone's enthusiasm for AJF and their generosity in spending time with me.

An advanced copy of the AJF book Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective is in my hands. Wow, it is a beauty! You will hear a lot more about it and the Speakers Tour we are organizing next month. In the meantime, stay cool in the summer heat, or if you live below the equator, I hope the winter is beautiful.

Warmly,

Susan Cummins

AJF Chair

Beatriz Defeo

Beatriz Defeo was in charge of all the jewelry sales at Bergé between 2008 and 2012, and she just tested her mettle by organizing one for Piasa, in the tougher Parisian environment. This one-woman band is pretty much the only person who has tried to sell contemporary jewelry in auctions, and she tells us why it is looking promising.  

Benjamin Lignel: Do you make a distinction between artist jewelry and contemporary jewelry?

Ellen Reiben, Jewelers'Werk, photo: Morgan Howarth

Ellen Reiben: I do see a change in the collector. The collectors I have worked with have gradually broadened their horizons and slowly come to appreciate pieces now they might have run from before! It is a matter of comfort, and gradually that comfort level evolves. The sophistication level of collectors has grown very fast in the last few years; more and more they are exposed to international work, which can be very challenging. 

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