I am very happy to announce that we have finally found a new General Manager. For those of you who know me (and those that don’t!), sometimes life can be pretty chaotic in the shop. So, we finally went on a quest to find an office manager. Well, we did way better than that, you know us, no second bests here! Marlene Richey, a veteran of the national jewelry industry, and a fixture in the Northeast as well as the award winning author of Profiting By Design has joined the team as our new General Manager. Office details are but minor hurdles for Marlene’s skills, and we are really excited to let her loose on all of the other important operational details that, I, as an artist, seem able to “overlook” on a daily basis. Stay tuned!

Great News! Chris Ploof Studio has been selected as a Rising Star in the jewelry industry, and will be exhibiting at the JCK Las Vegas Design Center June 4-7th, 2010. This is a great opportunity for retailers considering carrying our work to come and meet Chris and some of his staff.

We were also recently selected as a runner up in the American Jewelry Design Council New Talent Competition.

Ok, so we know things are pretty tough all over, but that doesn’t prevent weddings, it just makes them more difficult to plan and makes saving money a priority for some customers. The rising cost of gold is a contributing factor in ring prices. Quality gold rings are very expensive, and prices are continuing to rise with the increasing gold market. Sure, the experts say the recession is over, but maybe not for all of us.

To help, we are offering platinum enhanced sterling silver linings on our meteorite and damascus rings for a limited time. This reduces the cost a bit, and still gets you a unique, beautiful ring of the highest quality with a nice white lining. Silver is softer, but the addition of platinum makes it more durable. And, as always, we can line the ring with other precious metals when the time comes.

So, if you are interested, let us know and we will direct you to an area retailer that can help you with sizing and pricing information.

It’s been far too long since the last post, and I hope you will forgive me. The Zero G wedding went of “with a hitch” (pun intended)!

Noah and Erin were happily married in a 747 flown to simulate zero gravity. They made several turns which offered a few mintues of weightlessness on each pass. They and their guests were treated to the first zero gravity wedding “on earth”.

They exchanged vows and meteorite rings made by us here in the studio (not under weightless conditions, I assure you!), and we couldn’t be happier to have been a part of their special ceremony!

Congratulations Noah and Erin, may you have a long and happy life together.

Chris Ploof Studio is proud to be making meteorite rings for the first ever zero-gravity wedding. Stay tuned for more details!