Inspired by my colleagues at Style 360, I am happy to note a milestone for the Jewels on Jewels blog, as this is the 101^st posting. 

In honor of the occasion, I’m going to share a bit of wisdom – a meditation, if you will – that Caroline Stanley and I included in our book Jewelry Savvy, which, I’m pleased to report, is about to go into its second printing.

“What is a face, really? Its own photo? Its make-up? Or is it a face as painted by such and such painter? That which is in front? Inside? Behind? And the rest? Doesn’t everyone look at himself in his own particular way? Deformations simply do not exist.”

This quotation is a fine, if poetic, retort to the tongue-in-cheek comment that so-and-so has “a face that only a mother can love.” Maybe more than that, it is a reminder that everyone has his or her own unique beauty or, as Gwendolyn Brooks would say, “Each body has its art.”

As jewelry retailers, you can help each and every customer feel appreciated. You can sell jewelry that complements the face, features and form of the customer, reflects her personality, and supports her vision of how she wants to be perceived. Listen. Observe. Incorporate principles of image consulting into your retailer’s toolkit. After all, principles of image consulting are essentially principles of art. And the meditation above? It’s a quote from Pablo Picasso.

JCK