We are a family run Jewellers designing and manufacturing in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a retail store on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre. Alongside our own work we stock a large selection of Irish, British and European designers. Handcrafted work from small studios and workshops following the same ethos as ourselves, strong design to the highest level of craftsmanship.
Traditionally we have had the pleasure of travelling to trade fairs in Munich, London, Birmingham and other great cities to source new designer makers to stock. However like so many other aspects of our crafting lives, COVID-19 has thrown a spanner in the works. So we are on the hunt to find new faces to offer our customers. Do you think your work would sit well in Steensons store?
Our customers expect the highest standard of craftmanship from pieces bought at Steensons, our reputation is paramount, therefore the quality of the work will have equal standing to the design. We are looking for new collections that stand out and hold their own alongside the talented designers we already stock, such as MANU, Kreuchauff, Gill Galloway Whitehead and Jill Graham, to name a few.
We are looking for full collections / matching body of work that would fill a showcase, one of the most common reasons we would dismiss a designer’s work we like would be their collection is not extensive enough. To fill one of our showcases would require a minimum of six variations of pendant/necklets, a few rings, six to ten styles of earrings and 2 -3 bracelets/ bangles. More than one collection will be considered.
Essential criteria
Must be able to supply full bulk orders in a 6-8 week turnaround from placement date. On average we place 2 -4 orders annually with multiple quantities of each item.
Trade prices and RRP price list, we will not stock someone who offers direct to the customer at a lower retail.
Must be able to carry out repairs and sizes of their own work within a reasonable time frame (2-3weeks)
Must be handcrafted by yourself or your employees – we are not looking for mass produced items readily available in the commercial market.
Do not already stock a Belfast city centre store.
Desirable
Will carry out alterations and occasional customer requests.
High Resolution images for Social media, marketing and Point of Sale
Construction in Precious metal/semi and precious gemstones, no glass or artificial gems.
Selection process – initial 2 week Call. Closing date 18/8/21
As this is our first time taking this approach, we are open to how you wish to present your work. Initially we are calling for makers interested in stocking our store to send us one or both of the following.
1: images of your work and a covering letter /artist statement that will help us get a feel for you and your work.
2: One short video showcasing your collection/s and explaining your materials, making process or ethos.
send to store@thesteensons.com
From this we will invite by appointment selected makers to visit the store (no later than September 4th) with their collections, or to send samples and video call if unable to attend.
Ideally, we would like to have the new collection/s in our showcases by mid-October.