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In the summer of 2016, Designer Kate Hubley was thrilled to launch her collection, K8, at the JA New York Show. When the opportunity to participate in The Big Pitch came up, she immediately jumped at the chance to showcase her collection to the discerning panel of judges. What transpired, while she may have experienced it in the moment as nothing short of “mortifying,” ended up being a true watershed moment for her professionally.
I remember moderating The Big Pitch that year, and I remember feeling vicariously horrified for Kate as diamonds continued to fall out of her pieces in front of the panel. I also remember feeling supremely grateful for the kindness our panelists expressed in supporting Kate and her creative acumen, while calling out her manufacturers for their shoddy attention to detail!
After returning to Canada, Kate changed course and is returning to JA New York for the Spring show next week, with an expanded collection in which the diamonds and gemstones stay where they belong! We caught up with Kate to get a little insight into her Big Pitch experience and find out how it has affected her business.
JA New York: How long have you been designing jewelry?
Kate Hubley: My whole life I have always designed. I took my first course ever with master metalsmith Charles Lewten Brain in the ‘80’s in Nova Scotia when I was a teenager, my first year at university. But I’m an ad girl, a copywriter, so I’ve been living two lives for a really long time. After university, I moved to Montreal and became a translator, but I’ve always had a studio and my toolbox. When I had my daughter, I took a year off and I started to do more work at the bench. When I returned to work, I was thinking, “I don’t like this anymore, I just want to design.”
JA New York: Tell me a little bit more about what happened at The Big Pitch? What happened in the manufacturing of your collection that resulted in stones falling out?
KH: I have a pretty good hand in terms of technique, but I went to a team that I thought had more of an A grade (I have a B grade!). I got the pieces the night before the show, and some diamonds fell out. And then, in front of the panel, more diamonds fell out!
JA New York: What did you learn from this experience?
KH: The first thing I noticed during my pitch was that every one of the panelists picked up my pieces and looped them. I do that too, and it was a reminder that that’s what people are looking at; if they want to sell your product, you need to make sure the quality of the work and the quality of the materials are above reproach. It’s not easy to find the right team to work with, it’s not easy to find the people that can support your vision and bring the same level of conscientiousness as I do, whether it’s your gem dealers, manufacturers, casters or polishers, but The Big Pitch panel brought my awareness up and made me secure in knowing that if I’m making a decision, and I’m insisting on a certain level of quality, I can refuse to work with people who say, “no one will notice, only you see that.” That’s just not true if you want to sell your work to reputable companies.
The panelists also made me aware that the manufacturing is something that I can fix. They weren’t criticizing my creative vision, they were pointing out the flaws in the manufacturing, and they gave me the confidence to find a different team to work with. It was heartbreaking to lose so much money with that team, I thought they were the only ones in town that could help me, but luckily I changed course and now I’m thrilled with the quality of my work.
JA New York: It sounds like The Big Pitch was a pretty big factor in the evolution of your business?
KH: Most definitely! I continue to take on copywriting projects occasionally, but only with one or two teams that I’ve worked with for a long time, so I can just work on things from home. After The Big Pitch, that’s when I made my firm decision to only concentrate on jewelry design and goldsmithing!
JA New York—We can’t wait to see how your collection has evolved! Do you have anything exciting planned for the show?
KH: We’re actually doing a “Live to Love” giveaway! I’m going to have a selection of my Stackology rings on display, and when a retailer fills out an entry form, they just have to tick the box of the one they like best. I’ll draw the winner at noon on Tuesday, they don’t have to be present at the drawing the win.
The JA New York Spring Show is taking place March 11-13, 2018 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Click here to register to attend!
