Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre

Ten Years Of New Design and Technology 

Innovative products, cutting edge technology, renowned international designers and trend predictors will come together on 4th & 5th July at the University of Central England in Birmingham’s School of Jewellery, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the region’s Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre (JIIC).

The two day event will feature free and ticketed events for anyone interested in new technology and who wants to find out how to develop and get new products to market more quickly.

Set up 10 years ago as part of UCE Birmingham, the JIIC has assisted hundreds of small businesses in the jewellery and high value goods industries within the West Midlands to develop innovative new products using design, research and technology that might otherwise be unavailable to them.

The kind of companies that have benefited from the skills and technology provided by the JIIC and its specialist staff range from award-winning jewellery designer, Aimee Winstone, one of eight designers to win the Platinum Design Innovation Award in 2006, to the Black Country Museum, who sought help in recreating Victorian badges for a bobby’s helmet and postman’s insignia. 14 of these companies will be showcased at the 10th anniversary celebrations as part of a series of events and displays that also includes:

• Wednesday 4th & Thursday 5th A technical exhibition, showcasing the UK’s main suppliers of 3D design software,  rapid prototyping, laser marking and welding, rapid manufacturing, computer aided design.
 
• Wednesday 4th & Thursday 5th An exhibition of products manufactured by companies after receiving product   development assistance from the JIIC –  including silversmithing, jewellery, giftware and high value added  product industries.

• Wednesday 4th A programme of seminars on design for technology with internationally renowned specialist  speakers: including Janne Kynatten from award winning Dutch company, Freedom of Creation  www.freedomofcreation.com and Lionel Dean of Future Factories www.futurefactories.com who will be talking about  how the latest developments in technology can influence, inspire and facilitate the design process.

• Thursday 5th Another highlight of the two-day event will be a Trend Prediction 2008 seminar on 5th July with  Paola de Luca from Trend Jewellery Forecasting (TJF) Italy. Tickets for this session are £85 and further details  can be obtained from dawn.meaden-johnson@uce.ac.uk

Gay Penfold, manager of the JIIC said:  “We wanted our 10th anniversary celebrations to highlight the new products and commercial achievements of the companies that we have helped over the years. Our assistance has helped many of them to generate new sales and enter new markets, in addition many have won awards and acclaim for their work.”

“We also wanted to provide a forum for the most recent developments and innovations in technology so that businesses in the jewellery and other high value added sectors could have access to leading practitioners and suppliers. They can use this event to research and investigate available options and decide if they are right for their business before investing. The JIIC team will be on hand to provide information on our close to market research and comprehensive consultancy services for business.”

Ends
Note to Editors

The JIIC is part of the School of Jewellery, within UCE Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BIAD), a faculty of UCE Birmingham www.ucebirmingham.ac.uk
The Centre is part funded by ERDF (Government Office for the West Midlands) and AWM (Advantage West Midlands), in – kind support is received from the BJA (British Jewellers Association), the Jewellery Quarter Regeneration Partnership and industry support from the Birmingham Assay Office and industry representatives. The JIIC is a partner in the West Midlands Technology Network (WMTN) and is a Manufacturing Advisory Service associate. This event has been supported by Net Infinity and WMTN.

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Media Information
For a full list of companies exhibiting at the JIIC 10th Anniversary, full case studies and product photographs, please contact Roulla Xenides, S&X Media, 0121 604 6366, e: roulla@sx-media.com

For further information, please contact the UCE Birmingham Media Relations Office on 0121 331 6738, Email press@uce.ac.uk or out-of-hours on 07967 271 532

Objet
Rapid Prototyping Machines
Mitsubishi
ops-ingersoll
Unisign
Emco
sauter
erix
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