Kim Craftsmen – A Tale of Two Brothers
The Kim Craftsmen company produced jewelry amid changing cultural landscapes – from the post-World War II era through the civil rights movement, the sexual revolution, the hippie flower power and peace movements, and beyond – staying on the cutting edge of the market for the duration. Creating and popularizing major fashion-forward jewelry movements over the
last five decades, the jewelry and ideas of Kim Craftsmen influenced an almost unfathomable number of young women and the jewelry industry as a whole. The Making of a Jewelry Company
The Schimel’s, Carl and Marty, were just teenagers in 1950 when they decided to open their own business and begin wholesaling jewelry in New York City. The brothers started under the name C & M Jewelry, and purchased finished goods from manufacturers to be resold to retailers. The company's first few jewelry lines consisted of charm bracelets and monogrammed initial bracelets. As C & M Jewelry gained accounts and clients, its resale product line expanded accordingly. Carl and Marty Schimel took naturally to the jewelry business and their wholesaling enterprise flourished in its infancy. It didn’t take long, however, for the Schimel brothers to discover they should forge their own path. In light of increased markups and dwindling profits, they realized their role as a wholesaler was constantly shortchanged by the industry and felt the crunch on both sides. Their business instinct and artistic nature led them to venture from wholesaling to manufacturing their own line of jewelry. Learning the nature of the jewelry trade firsthand, they began their manufacturing endeavor with confidence. The brothers acquired metals and findings to work with, good quantities of copper in particular, which was proving popular during the 1950s. They used raw copper, hammering and manipulating it into pieces like twisted upper arm bracelets and rings, abstract shaped pins, and articulated necklaces. The methods of Modernist Art Smith, which included surrealism, biomorphicism, and primitivism, influenced the design work of this enterprising duo. One can also see the influence of New York jewelry artist Paul Lobel in their animal and figural brooches (from cats and dogs, called "pet pins," to comedy/tragedy masks and painter’s palettes). The brother’s animal pins were not only one of their first lines of jewelry, they were also their most popular. From the 1950s through the 1990s, they introduced many designs and colored finishes, including the use of colored enamels starting in the early 1970s. The Evolution of Kim Craftsmen
The trade name C & M Jewelry changed to Kim Copper in 1952. "Kim," the brothers felt, was a simple, feminine name, outlining exactly what they sought to achieve in the young women’s jewelry market. Around 1958, when the company expanded into materials beyond copper, the Schimels' started a second line called Kim Craftsmen. There was a large amount of "mental manipulation" that went into the design process. The brothers would look at a long flat finding and realize, if bent around, they could put it on a bracelet. Or, if they combined one finding with another and added a stone, they’d be onto something even greater. Through trial and error, armed with innate metalwork and design skills, they found ways of production that functioned wonderfully. The fact that neither brother was formally trained in design is remarkable. Carl believes the self-taught nature of their skills benefitted them, as the brothers felt freer to explore more innovative techniques in their design beyond what other manufacturers traditionally used. They sought techniques from outside the industry as well, and were able to utilize these innovations to their advantage. For example: using radio waves, they would set up their jewelry, run it under a coil, and it would then solder without the aid of a blowtorch – phenomenal technology for the 1950s. Finding the Kim Market
Young women searching for identity through fashion made an ideal market for Kim pieces, which were made to be talked about in an artistic sense. Carl and Marty took these self-made jewelry designs and sold them directly to college students in New York. They targeted the "movers and shakers" on campuses like New York University to establish their look. They also targeted visitors to NYC, whom Carl deemed the "weekend bohemian" girls, to get their jewelry in their hands. This popular would-be-bohemian girl would sport a pin and produce a flurry of sales when her peers sought to emulate the look. Carl uses the term "mass individuality" to describe pieces like the caged stone necklace, one of their early designs which proved popular for decades. First made in the 1950s, a colored stone was encased in hand-bent metal wire and each pendant was slightly different in size, shape, and color. In this way, each customer could choose her own preferred design. In the past, women’s adornments were dictated by their income and interest; now, young women were free to explore and to imagine their accessories as an expression of their desired identity. In the 1950s and 1960s, most jewelry stores were not interested in attracting young consumers, as they were focused on an older, more established client base with more disposable income. Kim Craftsmen built upon its customer base by bucking this trend and expanding sales to the untapped market of young women in college towns around the country. Kim pieces were less expensive than those in jewelry stores, but unquestionably crafted with skill. Stores took notice and bought the company’s products, willing to take the chance to build "confidence and familiarity" with a new generation of customers who might, in time, return to buy more expensive lines. Although the Schimel brothers were now mass producing their designs, they used their own platers, hammerers, and solderers in the assembly process. They methodically trained all of their employees, and quality remained extremely important to them. Every piece was carefully checked before it was released to the market, and there was always an unconditional guarantee – any Kim piece could be returned at any time, for any reason. Though they started with boutiques, jewelry stores, and college venues, their jewelry eventually sold at department stores like Macy’s with the advent of Kim self-contained lighted displays. Kim Craftsmen was one of the first costume jewelers to use in-store shops, or kiosks, for marketing purposes. The company even made its own kiosk models for department stores and print advertisements. The moderately priced Kim jewelry atop these kiosks was used to lure young women into department stores and make them feel welcome; this is particularly true for Kim earrings. Earrings were an extremely important part of the Kim market. In the ‘50s, prior to the hippie movement, pierced ears on teenage girls were considered radical in American culture; parents were alarmed at the prospect of their daughters coming home with such a scandalous display of adornment. Banking on the allure of this taboo, Kim produced a line of small pierced earrings for girls with rebellion in mind, as well as a large number of “pierced-look” earrings. Girls could wear these looks, and easily differentiate themselves from their parents’ generation who still wore clip-on and screw style earrings. Making fashion that made a statement remained a goal of Kim Craftsmen. Kim became the go-to brand for stylish, affordable earrings – customers would go into stores and ask to be directed toward the Kim department. When a young shopper entered the jewelry department, previously an unwelcome environ for youths, there would be two easily accessible racks of Kim earrings to target customers. This extremely successful marketing strategy allowed department stores to sell about 1,000 pairs of earrings a day for around $3 a pair – generating the formidable sum of $3,000 in revenue, an amount higher than the rest of the entire jewelry department combined. Certain styles of Kim earrings even became generic terms: long, thin earrings were referred to as “Thin Kims” or “Slim Kims,” even if they were manufactured by another company and marketed under a different brand. Culturally-inspired “ethnic” jewelry was another big part of the Kim market. Pieces made from hammered silver, like large hoop earrings, as well as items made from African trading beads, of which Kim was the largest importer at the time. Always focusing on pieces that would get noticed, during the rise of the hippie movement Kim produced many items with the peace and “flower power” motif, and it incorporated the movement into its marketing tactics. Peace sign jewelry of all kinds, like peace stud earrings, as well as colorful leather belts and headbands were made. The hippie gear was a political statement, acting as a communication platform for the wearer. Body jewelry was another venue which Kim Craftsmen felt drawn to explore. Stunning wristlets (“slave bracelets,” à la Cleopatra) and larger rings were manufactured in the late 1960s, along with cheekier items in the same vein: metal bras (referred to as bumper guards at the time) with opal ni***es, belts, and impressive chainmail-like metal vests. Items like these provoked an influx of letters from appalled consumers, but Kim remained proud of their free-spirited designs. Kim body jewelry was not intended for general public wear, so it was not widely manufactured. The intention with these designs was, again, to establish a look. The body jewelry adorning mannequins and featured in Kim displays created a distinct image for the customer to emulate. Like watching a high-fashion runway show, consumers could choose a toned-down version of a piece – a wristlet, say, or a big copper ring – and still wear the look in a comfortable way. Understanding this need in accessory options illustrates one of the Schimel brothers’ top skills: an intuitive understanding of fashion and trends. Another contribution to fashion history is found in the evolution of Kim oversized rings. Now popular collectible pieces, they contain some of the Schimel brothers most impressive and original work. The rings combined form and texture to create a unique, larger-than-life look in every piece, another example of mass individuality. With the revival of the art nouveau look, these metalwork rings were made from copper or other metals, in filigree or other designs, typically surrounding a large brightly-colored glass stone. The Kim rings were produced in numerous designs and the most collectible are typically metalwork stampings soldered to open shanks. These shanks are another important development in jewelry craftsmanship invented by Kim. Combining wide bands with concave centers, these shanks were used with most of the company’s larger rings allowing them to adjust to any finger size, balance well on the finger, and feel comfortable when being worn. The rings are a prime example of Kim Craftsmen’s essence: technically impressive, individually designed, yet unquestionably feminine and wearable. Inspiration for these over-the-top rings, again, came from a desire to emphasize the generational divide. A young woman would wear these attention-grabbing rings, but her mother definitely wouldn’t – they were made to garner attention. History repeats itself in 2010, as the oversized cocktail ring once again appeals to the young and fashionable making Kim vintage rings even more collectible. DATING KIM JEWELRY
For collectors and enthusiasts, it can be hard to date the work of Kim Craftsmen because, like other prolific manufacturers of that time, many lines were privately labeled. Kim was at the forefront of this private labeling movement and although many of its pieces were unsigned, they are still very recognizable to knowledgeable collectors. Signed pieces, from 1950-1952, were marked with “C & M.” The “Kim Copper” brand was used from 1952-1958. Kim Craftsmen marks were used starting in 1955, up until 1997. Many of the rings and other pieces are marked with script “Kim” inside the ring shank. After a big run in the 1980s and 1990s with plastic bangles, bright beaded necklaces, and other jewelry popular during that time, Kim stopped production in 1997. Over the course of close to 50 years, Kim produced in excess of 100 million pieces of jewelry – an impressive total for two brothers from Brooklyn who started in their home bending copper by hand. While Marty passed away in 2007, Carl has continued impacting the fashion and jewelry industry as a vintage bead and jewelry component part wholesaler through a new company started in New York with his daughter Elyse Schimel, who frequently teases him about his age when the two come upon his Kim pieces (showcased frequently in museums, antique shows, and comprehensive books about period jewelry), though underneath the ribbing one can clearly see how proud she is of her father’s impact on the industry. A PERFECT BALANCE
The face of marketing in the fashion industry has evolved over the years, from how we hear about brands and trends, to where we buy them. Jewelry manufacturing is a trade which combines creativity, commerce, attention to detail, and an overall flair for design. The beauty of the Schimels’ work lies in the way they blended these roles throughout their careers. Not only did they get their hands dirty bending copper, they founded a company with inventive methods of manufacturing and creative marketing techniques. With the dexterity to both create jewelry and navigate the business realm, Kim Craftsmen achieved the perfect balance. By Molly Felth for A J Raefields under the direction of Tracy Janik. Visit A J Raefileds at www.ajraefields.com
Photos for Kim Craftsmen provided by A.J.
