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“Do Not Be So Presumptuous”: A Note From Richard Kimball

April 3, 2018 by WendyB

In my last post, I redacted the name of a jeweler who publicly criticized my ANZA PURE x Wendy Brandes collaboration because I didn’t want to create undue trouble for him even though I was like …

I figured it was one thing for me to write about his mean-boy comment, but another thing for him to suffer any consequences that were more severe than warranted.

However, what I thought of as a kind attempt to protect him from himself was perceived by jewelry designer Richard Kimball as a lack of “courtesy and … courage.” (Wow! Men really are from Mars, women from Venus!) I don’t want to make that mistake again, so rather than simply approving the comment he left me on yesterday’s musings, I have elevated it to its own blog post.

Please note that typos are his. These earrings are also his. You can judge for yourselves whether the elements of good design — definable, available for study, and beyond the scope of taste — are present in those.

Wendy,
Notions of beauty come and go, fads and trends are ephemeral. Granted, there are always people who enjoy and buy an idea of the moment. If, however, you were not so busy with your life of “jewelry design… bookeeping, blogging, vlogging,tweeting…”etc. you might have found the time to discover that the elements of good design are definable, available for study and go beyond the scope of taste. To equate a financially prudent and technically simplistic solution to using attractive but challenging material, dreamed up over lunch, with good design is either highly self- delusional or the hight of arrogant advertising and promotion. I have no quarrel with simple solutions, and celebrate any and all income passed back to the miners who struggle to make a living. What I find difficult to accept is calling a product something that it isn’t. Sadly, our current jewelry world is far too full of these breathless claims of beauty and cutting-edge design, and the products emanating from it are, as I claimed, often the result of lazy conception and are technically undemanding in this age where every technological advantage imaginable is available. Putting points on18k round wire and bending it around an uncut stone is not ” thoughtful ” and there is nothing “exquisite” about it. Please feel free to conceptualize it, manufacture it, sell it with great success. Please do not call it something that it isn’t
On another note, to imply that my criticism is gender biased is nothing but a smokescreen on your part to obscure the gist of my commentary. I did not speak ” badly” about any woman. Issues of design and promotion are universal, belonging to neither women nor men, and my discussion of them has no basis other than the material facts. Do not be so presumptuous as to tell me what I feel. And if you are going to quote me or reprint something I wrote, have the courtesy and the courage to use my name.

Best Regards,
Richard Kimball

Interestingly, the Spacenook post that first raised Richard’s ire didn’t contain overt praise for the designs, metalwork, or concept of the ANZA PURE pieces. Only the original poster could say for sure, but I understood this as an enthusiastic response to the gem colors, which are, indisputably, freaking beautiful.

Other people chimed in with “Nice to see the natural beauty of the crystals” and “Fantastic. Colors,” so I do believe most of us were focused on how vivid these pink and green stones were. I went back to check, because Richard Kimball’s initial comment was …

… which reads like a non sequitur to me. I wouldn’t have used “homage” in that context.

via GIPHY

Anyway, at the risk of repeating myself, I’m fine with people hating on the rough look of the ANZA pieces. If it’s not your style, so be it, whether you’re a potential customer or another jewelry designer!

I’d be okay with that even if the ANZA PURE jewelry was all I did — even if I didn’t spend most of my time doing the kind of technically demanding, more traditionally designed work that Richard Kimball claims to prefer.  I do so much of that that I’m not even sure which piece to insert here as an example. Let’s go with this (award-winning! LOL!) anniversary ring.

Video of the recent 50th anniversary engagement ring redesign! #jewelry #beplatinum #wedding #engagementring #anniversaryring #bridaljewelry #diamonds #diamondring #video

A post shared by Wendy Brandes Jewelry PR (@wendybrandesjewelry) on Nov 3, 2015 at 11:47am PST

As I said in the previous post, I’m not sure why Richard Kimball felt duty-bound to share his opinion on the ANZA PURE designs. No one is being forced to buy it, and there is so much jewelry in the world! The first couple of times I went to a jewelry trade show and saw hundreds of thousands of designs under one big convention-hall roof, I thought, “Why am I doing design? Everything possible has been done!” (Then I decided, “Hey, what’s one more person?”) There’s truly something for everyone: Expensive jewelry, inexpensive jewelry, classic diamond studs, rough spinel studs, earrings that look like sperm, pink-sapphire elephants rings … almost anything you can imagine …

Click for more photos of my award-winning Pink Elephant and Tipsy Writer Maneater Ring.

… even a solid gold snake tiara for goth brides!

Here's a closeup of our most luxurious piece to date – two twisting 18K snakes embrace in the center, holding a large South Sea pearl. The snakes are peppered with 76 white diamonds and each snake has ruby eyes. On the left you can see Wendy's eye for function peeking out of this gorgeous redhead's hair – the tiara's band was created with 18K rose gold wire that was engineered with loops for bobby pins or sewing the piece in place, to be sure it's secure for an entire day of celebration. Photo credit: Heathwood Photography. ⠀ #WendyBrandesWedding⠀ -⠀ -⠀ -⠀ #bride #bridal #oneofakind #highjewelry #jewelry #jewellery #luxury #luxurious #eternity #wedding #congratulations #luxebride #diamond #pearl #southseapearl #18k #victorian #tiara #queen #princess #snake #snakejewelry #heirloom #futureheirloom #diamondjewelry #hautejoaillerie

A post shared by Wendy Brandes Jewelry PR (@wendybrandesjewelry) on Aug 4, 2017 at 12:52pm PDT

There are too many options to waste time on what you don’t like! My old blog motto was wear what you want, and that applies to jewelry customers too. Spend your hard-earned money on what you love, even if it’s not mine, and as long as you’re happy, you’re not going to hear any criticism from me. Of course, if you tell me you’ve gotten bad service from another jewelry store/jewelry designer — as so many people have explained to me when they bring other designers’ work to me for repairs — then I’ll tell you what I really think.

via GIPHY

UPDATED APRIL 4, 2018, TO ADD: When I wrote this post, I hadn’t yet seen the version of the blog comment that Richard Kimball sent to one of my company emails. (He really wanted to make sure I got his message!) I feel obligated to report that he corrected both typos in that email.

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Filed Under: dumb shit on Facebook, feminism, Jewelry, social networking Tagged With: anza gems, anza pure x wendy brandes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Poochie says

    April 4, 2018 at 12:59 am

    Ugh. To be as crass as his long-winded comment – he’s a smug cunt with a punchable face.

    And those earrings look like something that would only be sold in a Colorado located Chico’s.

    • WendyB says

      April 4, 2018 at 4:01 pm

      LMMFAO.

  2. Catherine says

    April 4, 2018 at 10:10 am

    ???? What’s with the angry, snobbish word salad? Is he having a stroke or something? This level of mansplaining is about to give ME a stroke. He’s a jewelry troll!!! Too bad you don’t know anything about history or jewelry, Wendy!! Good thing this old gas bag broke out his thesaurus and messaged you!! 🙄 Keep it moving, buddy.

    • WendyB says

      April 4, 2018 at 4:00 pm

      “Snobbish Word Salad” is going to be the name of my new rock band!

  3. Michelle Graff says

    April 4, 2018 at 2:03 pm

    Sorry to see that this happened again, and I 1000% percent agree with everything Wendy has said here and in the previous blog post on this matter. She said it best when she said: “There is a lot of high-end jewelry that doesn’t appeal to me. If I decided to tell each designer and/or jewelry buyer that this or that piece wasn’t to my taste, I’d be doing nothing else but that all day. Who has the time?” Yep, yep, yep.

    And congrats on the Elena Ferrante books. I still haven’t finished “My Brilliant Friend.”

    • WendyB says

      April 4, 2018 at 3:59 pm

      It took me a little while to get going with that book, but once I was underway, I zoomed through it.

  4. Sabine says

    April 4, 2018 at 2:15 pm

    Hi Wendy,

    I was once told by an antiques dealer: “Jewellery can be anything, but it should never be boring.”

    Good advice, in my opinion and something Mr Kimball should consider.

    Really enjoying your designs,

    Sabine

    • WendyB says

      April 4, 2018 at 3:58 pm

      I love that quote! It makes me think of Diana Vreeland when she said, “A little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika. We all need a splash of bad taste—it’s hearty, it’s healthy, it’s physical.”

  5. Peggy Jo Donahue says

    April 4, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    I read all four of the Elena Ferrante books and they are sublime!! Keep going! When Barbara Palumbo has time to breathe, is she gonna love them, or what?? #mypeople (the Italian side of me)

    • WendyB says

      April 4, 2018 at 8:00 pm

      I can picture her taking part in that fireworks battle in book 1!

  6. Lynn says

    April 5, 2018 at 2:40 pm

    Hmmm, why all the hateration for creativity “dreamed up over lunch”? Wouldn’t you enjoy a psycho-feminist analysis of that feat of mansplaining!

    • WendyB says

      April 5, 2018 at 4:17 pm

      There are other designs I’ve thought about for years. Maybe those are better? Or maybe I spent too long on them. Who knows?

  7. Kait says

    April 9, 2018 at 6:22 pm

    Don’t even bother to colour me surprised, that a man who dislikes your jewelry designs, has such a pedestrian approach to his own.

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MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
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