Understanding Freshwater Pearls with Honora CEO, Joel Schechter!

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

While we always do our best to help you to learn more about Freshwater Pearls, nothing beats hearing it directly from our CEO, Joel Schechter.  Joel was one of the first to see the potential in these astounding Cultured Pearls back when they were only available in the small low quality shapes we lovingly called “Rice Crispies”.  This video is a little longer than the Honora TV episodes that we usually post , but we wanted to offer you the same video that we created for our retail partners to help them to better understand what goes into creating our pearl jewelry.

If you have 8 minutes to spare,  Joel can teach you a lot about the qualities that draw everyone here at Honora to Freshwater Cultured Pearls.  He helps you to understand everything from how these pearls are grown, to learning about the pearl colors and even takes you behind-the-scenes at a Freshwater Pearl Farm in China.  Joel even goes out of his way to explain why these pearls are so affordable.  It is a true beginners course that focuses entirely on Freshwater and a must watch for anyone who truly loves these astounding gemstones!

If you prefer text, you can also check out our Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series (new posts coming soon!), it is a great way to get to know these pearls a little at a time.  We hope you enjoy the video and feel free to leave any questions you might have in the comments section.  We will be sure to answer them here or in future posts!  We would also appreciate it if you would let us know what you thought of this video.  Is this something you would like to see more of here on The Honora Blog?

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  Meet the Newest Addition To Honora- Design Director Julie Lamb

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Julie Lamb, Head Designer for Honora PearlsGreetings from NYC! I would like to introduce myself to you. My name is Julie Lamb and I am pleased to announce that I am Honora’s new Design Director! I would like to share a little bit about myself with you and hope that you will feel free to do the same.

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York (Canarsie to be exact) and started making jewelry at a young age. My family belonged to the Seaview Pool for 3 years, all of which I hated- except for 5pm when the day camp would close and I would scrounge around under their picnic tables and find beads that dropped into the sand. I would collect them, take them home and wash them off, then sort them in Hot Wheels carrying cases- quite a process! Not only did that keep me busy for hours (when I could have been fighting with my brother) I was also producing stuff my mom would wear, so she was pretty happy!

I first heard of the High School of Art & Design through a friend’s older brother, I knew I had to go there! No, it’s not “the Fame school” (Laguardia) there was no dancing in the hallways- just design.  My best friend Renee introduced me to Sculpey modeling compound and Canal Street plastics.  I was making jewelry out of acrylic and beads as well as keys, bottle caps, nail polish, nuts and bolts from my dad’s garage- anything that wasn’t nailed down.  After graduating A&D as an illustration major I entered Syracuse University’s Metalsmithing program. I learned soldering, casting, wax carving and other bench working basics as well as doing a semester abroad in Florence.

I began working right after college for a few family run businesses like Erickson Beamon, Robert Rose, and Michael Anthony. I then started working for larger companies and designed for Nine West Jewelry and Avon. I can definitely say my varied experiences in different facets of the industry have led me to the right place- here with you!

I look forward to blogging with you on a monthly basis. I would like to use this platform to preview new ideas and get your (honest) feedback. I’ll also be giving you a behind the scenes account of what we’re working on, inspiration we’ve found, upcoming shows and places we’ve gone all in the name of pearls! Most importantly our conversations will keep you up to date with what’s coming next for Honora (before all the other kids see it!!!) and keep me up to date with what you really want from Honora. Please be encouraged to leave requests in the comments section, I promise I will read them!

See you next month!  Your Girl With the Pearls, Julie

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  Nic Pick’s Your Most Romantic Story

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Sterling Silver Cherry Freshwater Pearl NecklaceHey Honora Fans, Nicole here!  I know it has been a while since we’ve held one of our Nic Pick’s You Contests, but we felt there was no better time to start with the upcoming Valentine’s Day weekend.  We were trying to figure out the perfect contest and decided to ask for suggestions on our Facebook Fan Page.  I absolutely loved Lauren’s idea for “Your Most Romantic Story” and cannot wait to hear your stories.  While it might have been nice to hold this contest in time for the prize to arrive for Valentine’s Day, I have hope that your story just might happen this weekend!

I cannot wait to read your entries and may even be inspired to share my own!  Don’t worry if this has nothing to do with our Freshwater Pearls, we just really would love to hear your own romantic story.  As it has been a while since our last contest, we have something special for the winner!  The author of my favorite story will receive one of our newest Cherry pieces, a 13-14MM Coin Freshwater Pearl 36″ Necklace valued at $490 MSRP that is pictured in this post.  This item is so new, that it isn’t even featured on our Pearl Jewelry Collection pages yet!

Please tell us your story in the comments section below to ensure that you are entered into the contest.  We will accept entries through Wednesday, February 17th and I will feature the winner and their romantic story here on The Honora Blog the very next day.  If you haven’t joined us on our Facebook Fan Page, be sure to check it out and be on the lookout for my weekly pics!  I am looking forward to a difficult decision!

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  Larry Lippert (L’array) – Sr. Merchandise Director

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Larry Lippert - L'array - Honora PearlsAfter more than 35 years of working in Sales and Operations in the jewelry industry, Larry discovered that he had a unique eye for pearl colors.  Seeing the new colors Honora was able to infuse into Freshwater Pearls, Larry began creating some of the most popular color combinations in our company’s history, including our Rainforest, Bluestone, Safari, Midnight and Santa Fe Collections.  This pearl palette and Larry’s innate flair for combining color have become a big part of Honora’s Freshwater Pearl Jewelry.  His combinations are constantly featured on QVC, QVC UK and can be seen at fine independent and national retail jewelry stores.

Larry began his jewelry career in 1973 after graduating SUNY Buffalo with Zale Corporation’s buying office in N.Y. as an assistant buyer. He worked his way up to Vice President of the Guild Division buyers by 1980 with a stop along the way as a retail manager for Granat Brothers, a Guild store chain in the San Francisco area. He joined Honora in 1982 in sales where he began to acquire extensive experience and education in Cultured Pearls.  He is now involved in running the day-to-day operations alongside Roberta Schechter, co-owner of Honora. In addition to designing, Larry also works very closely with Ralph Rossini, president of Honora, creating all our ads that appear in national fashion magazines as well as the NY Times.

Larry lives in Pleasantville, NY, with his wife, Judi and has a daughter, Joanna, and a son, Michael. He works out regularly at the gym and loves a day playing golf.

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  Ralph Rossini – President of Honora

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Ralph Rossini President of HonoraFor the past 10 years our QVC UK audience has grown to know Ralph as our host for The Honora Collection.   He has been working for Honora for over 20 years, originally starting his jewelry career in Honora’s colored-stone division called Kuhns.  This extensive gemstone experience has been invaluable towards making Ralph into the expert in Freshwater Pearls that he is today.

Ralph started out in the world of Film and Television and this background has been a major asset helping lead Honora in its advertising campaigns featured in the New York Times as well as magazines such as In Style, Elle and Town & Country.  Upon Honora’s company commitment to Freshwater Pearls, Ralph coined our tag line “A Fresh New Look At Pearls.”  Ralph remains passionate about film and is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) to this day.

Ralph received a BA in Sociology from SUNY at Stonybrook and was most recently a member of QVC’s Vendor Advisory Board.  Along with Honora’s CEO, Joel Schechter, Ralph travels regularly to China to buy from the world’s largest pearl farmers.  He also works closely with Senior Merchandise Manager Larry Lippert to help develop the colorful pearl palette that helps set Honora apart from the rest of the pearl world.

His love of Freshwater Pearls as well as his passion for Honora’s unique and colorful approach to jewelry is evident to anyone who has come to know Ralph over the past decade on QVC UK or, more recently, as our second host on QVC in the United States. In between his rigorous travel schedule between the US, UK and China, Ralph spends time at his home in Hoboken, NJ with his son Jason.

If you have question or comment for Ralph, feel free to leave it in the comments section below or email us at community@honora.com.

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