Several years ago, I was working in a company and we had carried out research to put together a collection for an important company. In this collection, we had to incorporate feathers in the designs. An interesting challenge. We found the supplier, made selections of feathers that could be used easily and without customs problems, sent dozens of photos to the client and finally the feathers were chosen… They were quite pretty actually! Grey, brown, speckled, cute as anything really.
So we made the pieces, fixed the feathers and finally sent the pieces to the customer. The customer was absolutely delighted with the result. A few days later, the marketing department called us to ask about the materials used. And mainly the feathers. We explained in all seriousness that they were turkey feathers. And then the marketing department replies, doubtful, that “of course turkey feathers are beautiful, but it’s not very glamorous all the same. Let’s just say they’re just feathers. Let’s do that, they’re just feathers!
This anecdote always makes me smile, the gap between workshops and shops is always glaring.
C., jeweller for twenty years.
Trust
This job is first and foremost a matter of trust. There's nothing else, really. Of course, you can add knowledge, technique, skills. Call it what you like. But for me, the only thing I will remember about this job is trust. You take a stone, possibly several, you leave...