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Desert Paradise Magazine
Inspired Art in Jeweles and Precious Metal For Cornelis Hollander, Jewelry is Sculpture in Miniature
Desert Paradise Magazine, March - April, 2005By RaeAnne Marsh
The fire of passion glows in a multitude of colors from gems that have been cut into shapes and sizes born of an artist’s inspiration. Cornelis Hollander’s nimble mind is never at rest, enhancing visions of the natural world to create pendants and rings, links and bands in innovative settings that carry fashion forward and endure beyond its whims.Inspiration, for the award-winning jewelry designer, is a non-stop process. “If I had to make every idea I have in my mind, my store would be a hundred times bigger,” he says, sitting in his jewelry gallery on Marshall Way in downtown Scottsdale. A prolific designer, he sketches everything and then considers which would work best in production. He then designs the shape of the stone needed for each piece. The gems in his stunning collections exhibit shapes unique to Cornelis Hollander designs.Such exacting designs may have their roots in his early goal to be a sculptor. To become a sculptor, in fact, is what he studied for in his native Netherlands. His sculptures gradually became smaller and smaller until “I made one small enough to put on a finger to make a ring.” He found he liked the detail of creating miniatures, and turned to jewelry. Hollander enrolled in the Vrije Academie in Den Haag, where he studied jewelry design and earned a master’s degree as a goldsmith.His next stop was London, apprenticing in the prestigious jewelry center of Hattan Garden, followed by several years in South Africa, the source of so much of the world diamond supply and a special jewel for him personally – it was there that he met and married wife Christa.“It was just chance” that led them to settle in Scottsdale, he says. Heading across country from Chicago to Los Angeles, “We stopped in Sun City to visit a friend of my father’s,” and were immediately attracted to the lifestyle in the Valley of the Sun. Forsaking the job waiting for him in Los Angeles, Hollander accepted a job with Grunewald & Adams at the Arizona jeweler’s location in Phoenix at the Biltmore Resort.It was during this time that he began to earn what would become an enviable list of awards for his jewelry designs. What is possibly most remarkable is that his first two were last-minute efforts. “I had just been hired by Grunewald & Adams, and they asked me to design two rings for the ‘Gold ’82’ competition (sponsored by International Gold Corporation Ltd.) I had three days to do it,” Hollander recalls. It was the biggest jewelry design contest in the country, and Hollander’s designs came out on top: His entry for Grunewald & Adams took first prize, and his own entry earned the competition’s grand prize.The awards gave him the confidence to become an independent jeweler. Working out of his home, he designed and created a collection of pieces that he personally carried to major department stores, wrangling face-to-face meetings with store buyers that resulted in the stores adding a few of his pieces to their jewelry inventory. This built to a significant business within just two years. Then, after exposure at a trade show in Basel, Switzerland, in 1987, Hollander began to build a tremendous following halfway around the world in Japan. “(Most) forms of Japanese art are very simple. Maybe that’s why they like my designs; the clean lines appeal,” he observes.But it is the personal interaction with customers – in his store on Marshall Way in downtown Scottsdale, which he opened in 1998, and at The Summit on Scottsdale Road in north Scottsdale, which he opened in 2001 – that he most enjoys. “It’s satisfying to help a couple with their engagement ring,” he says, adding in an understatement while pleasure suffuses his countenance, “It’s pretty cool to be part of that.”Hollander’s style is decidedly modern and geometric. He pictures the designs in his mind, including the shape of the stone (although not necessarily the stone’s color). The designs reflect his inspiration, and tend to not be affected by simply what stones are available. His favorite gem, in fact, is the paraiba, a rare, neon blue/green tourmaline from a mine in Brazil. (It is even rarer now, as the only mine that produced it has been closed.) And he likes stones that feature unusual cuts.Individual pieces may set opposite colors off against each other, with combinations such as yellow sapphire and emerald, for a very colorful effect, or blend similar colors such as with amethyst and tanzanite.Although his jewelry designs enhance the latest fashions, Hollander has little concern for trends when it comes to jewelry. Pointing out that clothing fashion changes every half-year, he describes jewelry as “long-term fashion” that will last 15 to 20 years.Hollander has been honored with numerous awards since his auspicious showing at Gold ’82. His awards include the De Beers Diamonds of Distinction (three times), the Platinum Guild’s Platinum Design of the Year (for three consecutive years), the American Gem Trade Association’s coveted Spectrum Award (nine times), and the Arizona Jewelry Association’s Best of Show in their annual design competition. He has also been recognized in Japan, winning the International Pearl Design Contest nine times. He is a founding member of the American Jewelry Design Council, a member of the elite U.S. trade organization Contemporary Design Group, and an associate of the International Design Guild. Hollander’s designs range from the sophisticated Archi-Tech collection to the playful Geo Art, and include the Air Band Collection with a design that minimizes contact between ring and finger – a design so unique that he was actually permitted a patent for it. Does he have a favorite? Yes, in a way. “My favorite design is my latest one,” Hollander says. “I’m most proud of it, because I just made it. Then it’s on to the next.”
Cornelis Hollander Designs Inc.
4151 North Marshall Way Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
480-423-5000
Cornelis Hollander in the Japanese Scene
Desert Paradise Magazine, September - October, 2005By RaeAnne Marsh
Exporting creativity to Japan? “That’s not the usual way; most people buy from Japan,” observes Cornelis Hollander with a wryly self-conscious smile.
But selling his jewelry designs to customers in Japan – actually having a presence in Japan – is exactly what the award-winning jewelry designer has been doing for fifteen years.
There’s a Swiss connection to the story; it starts with Hollander showing his designs at the international Basel Fair in Switzerland, at which the Japanese distributors ignored him the first year. But the next year was a different story, as they had had the first year to meet and learn about him. “I think what attracted them was the simplicity of the designs,” he explains, noting that Japanese designers favor more intricate designs, so his were very different.
So, with a firm grasp of a grand total of five Japanese words, Hollander began the relationship that sees him regularly traveling to Japan. In spite of the 20-hour travel time that includes layovers and bus shuttles, he enjoys the visits.
It’s a different way of doing business. Hollander has two stores here in Scottsdale – one on Marshall Way in downtown Scottsdale and another on Scottsdale Road in north Scottsdale – but in Japan, he sells in much more of a party atmosphere.
Hollander does not sell directly to the public in Japan. “I sell through the distributor to the public,” he says. The distributor makes all the arrangements to hold the show in a five-star hotel and invites 200 of his best retail stores. The retail store owners each bring ten of their best customers. “They’re wined and dined and entertained. Then they go shopping for jewelry.” Hollander describes the events as very colorful, with the rooms filled with thousands of flowers. It’s definitely a dress-up affair, and Hollander gets celebrity treatment: He finds the customers eager to interact with him as one interacts with an artist at an art gallery. “They want to have their picture taken with me,” he shares. “And they want me to sign the picture.”
Hollander is the only American invited to participate in these Japanese shows, but not the only westerner. Other designers who have been invited come from Italy, Germany and Spain. Japanese designers he has gotten to know and admire include Nobuko Ishikawa, Yukiko Hanai, Mitsuo Kaji, Kimio Sakai and Takemoto Izumi – who shows his designs here – but he says communication “is very difficult.” Although the Japanese have studied English and can speak it, Hollander finds they are shy about doing so.
Thirteen years ago, Hollander welcomed Nobuko Okuni to his company as Japanese Marketing Director. She now shares the load of attending the Japanese shows, and Hollander attends only the large ones, in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. “After recovering from the flight” – a day – “I really enjoy it.” Some of the fun is the food, cooked teppanyaki-style on little stoves at your table, but another part of it is the people themselves.
“The Japanese are very honorable. I always get paid; there is no need to chase them to get paid.” An important consideration from half a world away. And, when there, he travels with his jewelry in a backpack – no Brinks-style security, as he uses here. “I am totally not scared in Japan to travel with a bag of jewelry.”
Negotiations, though, can be much more drawn out than the business transactions here at home. It’s a difference for which Hollander expresses great respect as he explains, “Negotiating is lengthy, because they never say, ‘No.’” It has to be inferred, eventually.
For the most part, the jewelry Hollander takes to Japan is the same designs he sells here, but from time to time, “I’ll design a small collection for the Japanese only.” The designs of his that are most popular with the Japanese are playful and colorful, and he finds the colored stones have the greatest appeal. “Tourmalines, pinks, yellow, the softer colors of stones.” And the paraiba, his personal favorite. Not all of his Japanese customers are wealthy, he notes, but they are extremely loyal. “They’ll buy a little piece, and tell me, ‘It’s good seeing you. Thank you for coming.’” He’s filled specialty orders, such as a kimono belt, and introduced the very Western bolo tie to great success.
And sometimes Hollander gets to welcome his Japanese customers to Arizona. “We keep in touch,” he explains. When they visit, he is able to share with them traditional Western activities. He takes them horseback riding, and invites them to a backyard barbecue at his house.
Then they do what they traveled 20 hours for. “They come to my store the next day to buy.”
Cornelis Hollander
480-423-5000
