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Cindy Edelstein Memorial Auction to Begin Monday
Jewelry created by CJDG members is up for grabs, with proceeds benefitting the WJA scholarship created in Edelstein’s name and JFC.
Mike Pfeffer created this artwork for the Cindy Edelstein Memorial Auction. The picture of Cindy is comprised of words that family, close friends and colleagues submitted to describe the late designer advocate who died suddenly in January 2016.
New York--Bidding in the Cindy Edelstein Memorial Auction, the charity sale created in honor of the late designer advocate and author, is set to begin Monday.
Presented by the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group (CJDG) in association with the Couture show, the auction consists of pieces donated by CJDG artists including Chris Ploof, Dana Bronfman and Pamela Froman.
Bidding will begin on Monday, May 15 and continue through June 3.
Winners will be announced that same day at 6 p.m. at the Couture show, in the Sunset Hallway Terrace at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The auction is open to anyone--not just members of the jewelry industry--and winners who are not present at the event in Las Vegas will be contacted later to arrange payment and shipment.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the WJA Cindy Edelstein Scholarship Fund and Jewelers for Children.
WJA created the fund honoring Edelstein in 2016 as a nod to her commitment to the association and the careers of women in jewelry. The scholarship is $5,000 and is awarded annually.
Edelstein, who died unexpectedly in January 2016 at the age of 51, was a fierce force in multiple facets of the jewelry industry for decades.
She got her start as the fashion editor at JCK magazine before leaving the publication to start the Jeweler’s Resource Bureau with her husband, Frank Stankus.
For decades, she worked alongside him as an advocate for jewelry designers while also working as a consultant to trade shows, co-authoring a book on jewelry with Stankus and launching her own trade show, globalDESIGN.
All the while, Edelstein continued to contribute to industry’s trade publications including National Jeweler, where she was the creator and author of Cindy’s TrendTracker.
“The best way to describe Cindy is that she was the heart and soul of the jewelry industry,” wrote close friend and jewelry designer Pamela Froman on the auction website. “She loved all of us crazy passionate jewelry designers and appreciated our work like no one else. She was everyone’s confidant, champion, and was loyal to a fault … I love and miss you every day, Cindy!”
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