Good practice:

JEWELLERY CURATION

The Barcelona-born brand MISUI is a curator of jewellers that collaborates with its designers to develop innovative projects of high artistic worth. This approach implies that the authorship of the jewellery is always communicated, giving visibility and a leading role to the designers. MISUI proposes a new operating model: the brand acts as a curator for jewellers and develops its collections based on a commission from different designers with an international recognized artistic career. The designers enjoy full freedom to create and they have at their disposal the necessary materials and tools to transform their ideas into shapes with the highest quality standards. MISUI seeks to create objects where luxury derives both from the idea behind the piece and from its expression in the design and in the final production, looking for the artistic and material value of the jewellery. The main attributes of the brand are authorship and technique.
The project stands out from the dynamics and rhythms of fashion with unique pieces, far from trends and with a will to stay. This practice is a win-win for both brand and authors. On the one hand, the brand gains above all in dynamism, in richness of languages, but, in addition, through the leading role of authorship, it also gains credibility and a greater connection with its customers. Authors gain notoriety and access not only to a wider audience, but to techniques and productive possibilities that are usually beyond their reach.

Around two million Euros of investment has been necessary to conceive and execute the project in all its aspects and in the different markets in which the brand is present (North America, Central and Western Europe, Italy, Japan).

MISUI's project and collections have won several awards in recognition of the high artistic and material value of their creations:
*1-st runner-up - COUTURE AWARDS 2017, USA, JUNE 2017
*Out of Series for Design and Innovation Award, BARCELONA, NOVEMBER 2017
*Winner - FRANÇOISE VAN DEN BOSCH AWARD, THE NETHERLANDS. NOVEMBER 2017
*Best Crafts Brand - NATIONAL CRAFTS PRIZE: GENERALITAT DE CATALUNYA, DEC 2018.

Some curated artists are used to their own workshop and not used to market production logic. Learning between authors and the workshop is a challenge. Another challenge is finding market space. Art markets don't like "brands", while jewellery markets don't like the uniqueness of the products.

The model proposed by MISUI in which authorship takes a leading role and the design has the same relevance as materials and execution, can be easily extrapolated to other initiatives within the sector itself, but also to other sectors. In fact, it is not something new, it is a mode of operation that is commonly used in sectors such as luxury furniture design. The transfer of an operating mode from one sector to another generates disruption, but in a controlled way in which similar experiences, even if they are different, allow us to anticipate both the advantages and the possible difficulties that will be experienced. On the other hand, the different territories present different kinds of trades and workshops, and projects aimed at taking advantage of and preserving this knowledge should be promoted and considered of value.