The art of cloisonne in the East conjures up visions of wild eyed dragons bursting out of clouds embossed on priceless antiques. It is an art that originally came to the Orient from the West during its peak in Byzantine religious works. Now it is being returned from China to the West in the unexpected medium of pop art for the jewelry market. A Chinese family company allied with U.S. interests is putting this unique product of Taiwan's craftsmen into the international arena.
Ooh La La, a joint venture, is turning cloisonne, usually associated with small workshop production and gift shop sales, into big business. The inset-enamel art is also found on badges and emblems used to designate personnel rank or for commercial advertising. Now, Ooh La La has developed a major new place for cloisonne as pop art jewelry.
Successful marketing of inspired designs has been the key which opened doors for the company's rapid growth. Crucial to turning the key was the dependability of the Taiwan craftsmen, who assured high quality. Taiwan is now the world's most competitive supplier of cloisonne artifacts, able to meet the most stringent quality demands while beating all comers on price.
A glory of the cloisonne jewelers' art, circa 1982. (File photo)
Ooh La La came about as a result of links between Ms. Mildred Hsi and the company's present sales organizer, Mr. Peter Peterson, who was working with an American company to which Hsi was supplying costume jewelry and other cloisonne products. Hsi brought cloisonne here into the pop art era when the American company, under "Snoopy" license, bought a vast range of Snoopy items from Taiwan's workshops. To the American company it meant a growth over a three year period to $5 million in annual sales.
Hsi saw the need to push her own company one step further, and with her son Eddy, contacted Peterson to suggest that they market for themselves under the Ooh La La name. Familiar with the Hsis' business acumen and reliability, he was keen to try. Ooh La La sounded fine to Peterson, but in line with a habit of asking "What's next?" he picked up rights to use the popular lable "Hang Ten," which has led to success in the youth market.
Their products competed in the American jewelry market, which, till that time, lacked color. This, Peterson saw as a marketing edge. Most jewelry came out of the workshops of Providence, Rhode Island, and was mainly gold or silver of stamped or plated manufacture. Ooh La La developed colorful (and cute) lines which have become the mainstay of their sales.
The point of the matter- A metal workers's mechanical "brush". (File photo)
Among these lines is the "Animal Crackers" series which moves well at zoo souvenir shops. The San Diego Zoo shop is its biggest buyer. Another winner is the "Star Is Born" series: a bright star pin shows the wearer's name in gold set into a porcelain backing. A newly re leased design is the "Eagle Trips" series-cloisonne badges available with a variety of inscriptions ... "I'm macho," "I'm dandy" etc.
Market expansion and art work development have been concentrated in the States, and Hsi inevitably moved there, leaving dynamic young managers in control of production in Taipei. The move was timely, for Peterson was on the verge of his greatest coup, a license from the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) to make souvenir pins for the 1984 Olympics. The Hsi family had to guarantee US$500,000 or 10 percent in royalties, whichever is greater, to the LAOOC. A brave commitment for a pin maker.
Since gaining this license in 1980, members of the company have focused their efforts on Olympic development. The LAOOC is concerned that all souvenirs convey a sense of quality compatible with the high Olympian ideal, and this Olympic goal has led Ooh La La to consult America's top designers. Coupling concern for design with Taiwan's cloisonne craftsmanship, they expect to satisfy all ultimate requirements.
Basic to any Olympic design is the five-ring motif. For the Los Angeles games, well known designer Robert Myles Rennin has come up with a "Star in Motion" emblem. It incorporates three stars, red, white, and blue, which are superimposed upon each other and elongated as if carried by a running athlete. The "mascot" for the American team, "Sam Eagle," has been supplied by Disney designer Robert Moore. Moore has curbed the eagle's less appealing traits as caricatured by political cartoonists, giving Sam a good-humored look.
The company plans production of the three basic designs, each in a serial numbered limited edition of 30,000 all nation sets.
A set of pins-Mouth-watering sight for the hobbyist-collector. (File photo)
The majority of the sets, along with some individual pins, will be sold over the counter at offices of the First Interstate Bank, official bank and a sponsor of the Los Angeles" Olympics. Prices are US$90 for sets and US$4 for individual pins. Profits from the sales will all go to finance the U.S. Olympic Team. Marketing is aimed at two main sales targets: Americans wishing to assist their team, and the acquisitiveness of pin collectors. The latter are engaged in an internationally popular hobby, and account for Ooh La La's limited edition strategy.
With the exception of the "Stars in Motion" design, all pins feature Sam. Sam knows no limits ... the pentathlon was no challenge to him. He is literally into everything, from carrying the torch at the opening to the flag at closing, and participates in every sport in between.
The Olympic effort, however, is an output headache, explains Taipei production manager Joe Chiang. After liaison with factories and artists, the art work had to be refined into designs that could be efficiently crafted, and yet satisfy artistic flair. Then samples had to be made for final approval by the LAOOC. Manu facture of cloisonne pins is a detailed process requiring many stages. Different types of work are carried out in different factories on a contract basis. First, three separate molds are made for each design-to stamp the front and back faces, and the outer shape. Once a mounting pin is welded on, the blanks are ready for the cloisonne work.
Jewelry to stir the young at heart. (File photo)
Coloring in the cloisonne enamels presents the manufacturer with a difficult problem. It is skilled hand work and cannot be rushed, so Joe Chiang must be well and truly prepared, before the Olympics draw near, with all the stock the company hopes to sell. But, "Who actually knows how many people want to see Sam throwing a hammer?" queries Peterson.
In the cloisonne workshop in Taiwan each color must be separately applied to the pins. Cloisonne powder is mixed with water and put in position on the blank pin-a separate dab of black for the gleam in Sam's eye. The black must then be fired at 800°F and the blank scoured and cleaned before the next color can be applied. The tedious process is extended by Ooh La La's stringent quality control: Joe claims that there are 600 rejections for every 1,000 pins completed, requiring a color that has changed hue or cracked during firing to be scraped out and redone. Finally, the pins are polished, making them ready for the gold plating. For this Ooh La La has introduced new electro-plating equipment from Europe suited to individual plating of small items to achieve jewelry market standards.
Then, at the end of this production line, before packing, is the ultimate guard of quality control, a very strict lady of 77, Yue Ma Ma. Her critical eye unfailingly picks up slight faults that slip past factory inspection or, alternatively, approves pins for packing and shipping.
Sales organizer Peterson seems to see no end to the Olympic ride he has taken with the Hsi family and "Sam."
Craftsman at work- The pains taking process of cloisonne. (File photo)
With the basic set concept in hand, he has also approached the official sponsors of the games, companies like Arco, Coca Cola, Budwieser, Buick, ABC, Levis, Fuji and 7-Eleven, to mention a few. They have responded with orders to have their own pins made up. Peterson recalls his dealings with the big corporations. The Olympic license was his introduction, but only a beginning:
"They are business people and took some convincing that what we had to offer was worth their while. Once convinced, they tended to go one step more." Coca Cola, for example, is planning a pavilion in which pin collectors from all over the world can meet to exchange and trade pins. Inside there will be a huge pin wall for collectors' displays.
At the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) there was little persuasion needed, said Peterson. A top ABC executive, himself an avid pin collector, jumped at the idea. Recognizing the potential value of the pins, he in stalled a separate safe in his office to house the pins till the games.
Another line of Olympic pins also features Sam, but has him carrying the national flag of each member country of the Olympic federation, all 109 of them. Carrying on from all this, Ooh La La has already gained the right to make pins for the next winter Olympics.
And it does not seem likely that the company will significantly lose momentum after the Olympic effort is spent. Joe Chiang says that it has become the biggest and best in its field in Taiwan, and Taiwan is world leader. A permanent sales network of six full time agents and additional commission agents has been established in the U.S. to maintain and develop sales of regular lines. Joe says that Ooh La La expects to stay in front of competitors because it is rich in new ideas, especially in market development. -By Peter MacGregor