Ting Chu, Tuskc's new in-house designer
Jewellery designer boosts Tuskc from China
Posted October 31, 2011 | By Aaron Weinman
Tuskc Jewellery has acquired the services of a designer to help strengthen the company from on the ground in China.
In an effort to further bolster its recent success, the Sydney-based jewellery brand has employed the services of Ting Chu, a designer based in Guangzhou, China to design its 2012 collections.
Tuskc Operations Director Helen Hagerty is working closely with Chu and said the progress made thus far has been productive.
“Being in Guangzhou, Ting is very close to our manufacturers,” Hagerty said. “We wanted someone on the ground in China to liaise with the factories.”
Hagerty travelled to Hong Kong in September to finalise the details with Chu’s, who she believes is already establishing positive relationships with the manufacturers in Guangzhou.
“Ting speaks the national language and the local dialect,” Hagerty said. “Having somebody conversant in the local dialect will help the partnership between the manufacturers and ourselves.”
Hagerty told Jeweller that Chu shared the same vision as Tuskc and received a positive recommendation from manufacturers.
“Ting’s name was put forth by one of the manufacturer’s,” Hagerty said. “She wanted to be solely dedicated to a brand and forge good relationships with manufacturers, which is exactly what we wanted to achieve.”
After completing a successful exhibition in one of Guangzhou’s top design colleges, Chu was marked by Chinese manufacturers after finishing in the top five of her class. Chu then re-located to Milan where she worked as a freelance designer on various collections.
Tuskc’s parent company, Buckle, previously managed the manufacturing affairs overseas as well as Tuskc’s logistics. Acquiring Chu not only gives Tuskc complete ownership of its product, but someone experienced in jewellery design is an added bonus.
“This is an essential time for Tuskc to grow up,” Hagerty said. “It’s time to take the next step because we have evolved and grown as a brand.”
Hagerty said many jewellery brands in early stages will employ freelance designers to design products, however the drawback occurred when freelancers would sell the same designs to other brands.
“It’s important to take ownership of your product once you have a good base of stores,” Hagerty said. “With our good base, we felt it was time to produce original designs under the ownership of Tuskc.”
Tuskc has 185 stockists in Australia and entered the New Zealand market in July this year, acquiring five stockists.
More reading:
Tuskc’s success is via the rebel road
Promising start for Tuskc’s new e-tail site