Bringing International Inspiration to a “Made in NY” Jewelry Collection

New York, NY, July 18, 2013 --(PR.com)-- “I'm obsessed with traveling!” Bartels exclaims, as she adjusts the contours of her latest creation on her trusty design pad. Her most recent trip to India had inspired her latest Fall collection. “I loved the culture and I wanted to immerse myself in it.” And indeed her latest offering boasts of vibrant gemstones in the richest shades of saffron, indigo and malachite. Equally striking are her metallics—some with flashes of neon ribbon. Her Marina and Hyannis necklaces are particular standouts, which are in line with current summer trends. “I wanted to just bring everything back with me,” Bartels enthused, flicking her slender wrist, embossed with one of her sparkling creations. “In this collection I want to convey the feelings I had while still creating things people would wear.”

It’s been five years since she launched her first collection and Katie is no stranger to the challenges that a fledging company faces. “Developing an identity for the brand that you want to bring to the market is key,” she emphasizes. “But there are other aspects of the business, such as marketing and logistics that I did not have the expertise to handle. They can all be very distracting from the design process.”

Luckily, Bartels partnered with Artissano.com, the just-launched fashion e-commerce website which curates fashion from around the world for a contemporary customer in the United States. “The Artissano team focuses on curating product and giving a greater spotlight to designers like myself,” she shares. “They also partner-up with select designers to develop and market exclusive collections for their site, which was exactly what we did.”

“Katie is a passionate designer with an eye for high quality and meticulous craftsmanship,” endorses Kevin Rosenbloom, the head of merchandising at Artissano.com. He explains that “(Artissano is) committed to managing many of the logistics or ‘hairier aspects’ of the e-commerce business that sometimes weigh down emerging designers. From concept to execution, our partnerships have surpassed our expectations; from strategy, concept and product development to execution. Katie and Artissano are building a long term collaboration that will benefit both parties.”

“Fortunately both Artissano and I shared similar visions for their exclusive collection; from color palettes to the type of gemstones to be used in the pieces. And it turned out to be a true collaboration… having to incorporate their ideas to design pieces that I would not have made on my own,” Katie said. “But beyond this seeming match made in heaven, working with Artissano really frees me up to do what I love about jewelry design—the actual design process itself! Because they mainly do the heavy lifting on the logistics end, it affords me more time to travel and be inspired—And what could be better than that?”