IJL 2016 Announce KickStarter Winner

Marina Skia is currently Artist in Residence at Sir John Cass, London Metropolitan University. She cleverly identified people and organisations with large groups of followers, mainly through Facebook, to engage their support of her campaign. This included several fashion bloggers as well as Cass students, staff and friends on Facebook.

Her strategy paid off and her campaign reach grew thanks to numerous shares, new followers and messages of support from people who voted for her.  

Marina Skia Necklace

On being chosen, Marina commented, “I am delighted and honoured to win the People’s Choice Award. The competition provided the perfect opportunity to promote my work to a bigger audience and winning it is a great step forward for my brand.  I was so surprised by the enthusiasm and support I received during the campaign and am very grateful to all who helped me win the People’s Choice Award.”

Marina draws on the beauty, forms and shapes encountered in Nature. The sea and the motion of water is one of her strongest sources of inspiration. Her work is graphic and characterized by bold geometry, clean lines, and an emphasis on detail. In her brass and silver pieces Marina combines traditional hand making skills she was taught while training as a jeweller in Greece, with contemporary technologies she was introduced to while studying jewellery design in London.

The unique KickStart scheme is run by IJL and supported by the National Association of Jewellers, and is an excellent way for retailers and buyers to discover the talent of the future.

The full line up for KickStart 2016 is

• Joanna Bury
• Emily Richardson (Emily Richardson Jewellery)
• Emma Calvert
• Sammie Jo Coxon (SJC London)
• Cécile Gilbert
• Vicky Lew
• Lucas Mitchell (Lucas Alexander)
• Charlotte Scott Moncrieff (CF Concept)
• Marina Skia and
• Jonna Jarvenpaa and  Laura Vilppula (Addalit)

www.jewellerylondon.com/kickstart