Dear  Lilian,

I just read your article about finding a jewelry product photographer and I think it is one of the best and entertaining articles! Thank you for your guidance. I have a question about PR and properly approaching magazine editors in general. Although I have been in the industry a long time, I am launching 2 collections-one is 18K gold/diamond and one is cause jewelry for Bullying Awareness. I have 2 separate websites but need exposure. I have no budget to hire a PR team. How would one “emerging” designer get help and with a zero budget be in touch with editors? www.alisonnagasue.com and www.aknstopbullying.com. Thank you for any resources or recommendations!

Best Regards,

Alison Nagasue

Dear Alison,

If you and I were on a consulting call, one of the first questions I would ask you would be if you knew Cindy Edelstein and her tremendous services at the Jewelry Resource Bureau. Unfortunately, as many know by now, Cindy passed away last week

Before I go into answering your question, dear Alison, please allow me a final farewell to one of the most sparkling gems of the jewelry industry.

I met Cindy Edelstein in 2012 when I was tasked with what was then one of the biggest projects of my career. The Quebec Government Delegation was bringing 14 jewelry artists to the U.S. for an exhibition at Aaron Faber Gallery and it was my responsibility to not only publicize the exhibition, but to also ensure all 14 artists left the U.S. with a better understanding of doing business in this market.

Janis Kerman, one of the 14 artists, suggested I hire Cindy as a consultant on this project. It is to Janis I credit with getting to know one of the most beautiful souls of the jewelry industry. With Cindy on board, spending hours brainstorming with me on how I could meet every mandate the Quebec Government Delegation gave me, I was able to deliver results that far exceeded anyone’s expectations of the project.

When I sat down to write this statement, I found it odd that I’ve really only known Cindy for less than four years. Four years! But that’s the impact Cindy has had on my and countless other people’s lives. She was dedicated to helping out whenever she could, and always went above and beyond your request of her. In an industry where so many people think “me first,” Cindy was one of the few that would genuinely say, “yes, you first, how can I help you?”

Janis Kerman emailed me to ask if I’d heard the news; yes, I’d heard the night it happened from Patricia Faber. My last conversation with Cindy, I told her, was just a little under three weeks ago, when I was encouraging her and her husband to take a cruise, having just gone on one myself for my birthday. I suggested that this may be a way for her to combat empty nest syndrome, as her beloved daughter, Remy, was now off to college. Cindy’s response was, “yeah…maybe…”

Janis reminded me that the cruise was probably never going to happen as Cindy was too dedicated to her work to every take a vacation. And this is probably right — except I doubt if Cindy ever thought what she did was work. She’s done far too much, and has helped far too many people for her way of life to ever be considered work. Perhaps a craft, yes, but not work.

Cindy’s passing leaves a hole in the industry that no one person will ever be able to fill.

Thank you, Alison, for this moment. Now, to your question.

Once upon a time, the PR Advisor was a scrappy twenty-something year old with dreams of being the PR doyenne that years of experience and client successes has finally made me.

Unfortunately, this dream took shape shortly after September 11th, when PR and just about every other creative industry put a freeze on hiring as the economy slowly sank into recession. After a year of failed job interviews, I had to make a choice: either give up on this dream or figure out a way to give it to myself.

We don’t have to guess what my decision was, now do we? (Hint: it was the latter!)

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