Bill Smith (jewelry designer) facts for kids

Bill Smith (born 1933) was a talented American fashion and jewelry designer. He made history as the first black person to win a special Coty Award for his amazing designs. He created beautiful pieces for many famous companies. These included costume jewelry for Coro and Richelieu. He also designed leather goods for Mark Cross and furs for Ben Kahn. Even the famous Cartier jeweler had his designs!

Bill Smith's Life and Designs

Early Life and Dreams

Bill Smith was born in 1933 in Madison, Indiana. From a young age, people encouraged him to develop his artistic talents. He went to Indiana University to study art. While there, he also explored dance.

In 1954, Bill moved to New York City. He planned to study dance with Alwin Nikolais. But he soon decided to focus on jewelry design instead. In 1958, he started his own small business in Murray Hill, Manhattan. While studying dance, he worked part-time for a jewelry company. He learned important skills like soldering and casting metal. This helped him understand how to make his designs real.

Rising to Success

Bill Smith quickly became successful. In June 1968, he became vice-president of Richelieu. At that time, Richelieu was the second largest jewelry company in America! He achieved this after only two months as their head designer.

Later that year, in October, Bill got a special job. He was asked to create all the jewelry for a Broadway musical called Coco. This show was about the life of fashion icon Coco Chanel. The famous actress Katharine Hepburn starred in it.

Award-Winning Designs

In 1970, Bill Smith received a special Coty Award. This was a very important award in the fashion world. He was one of only six jewelry designers to be honored that year. Other winners included Alexis Kirk and Marty Ruza.

His designs were often inspired by his African heritage. They were described as simple and artistic, almost like sculptures. When he won the Coty Award, his designs often used tassels, leather, and cord. He combined these with metal and precious stones. He worked with both expensive and less expensive stones and metals.

Besides traditional jewelry, he also designed unique items. These included special covers for hair buns, called chignon covers. He also made belts, like one with fringes and a gilded (gold-covered) mermaid. He also created a series of crosses in an ethnic style. These were called "Peacemakers" and hung from silk cords.

Working with Big Names

In 1972, Bill Smith appeared in The Look magazine. He posed with supermodel Naomi Sims for a fashion story. It showed black designers and their inspirations. The magazine featured one of his 18-carat gold cuffs for Cartier. Naomi Sims modeled it beautifully.

Naomi Sims also introduced him to Kenton Corp. This led to the creation of Bill Smith Design Studios, Inc.. Bill Smith was the president of this new company. From here, he created jewelry for Cartier. He also designed leather accessories for Mark Cross.

By 1981, his company had closed. But Bill continued to work as a consultant. He advised Omega Inc. on accessory design. He also worked for the Hattie Carnegie company. This company made accessories for Anne Klein's clothing collections. In 1984, he won another award. It was for excellence in jewelry design at the 6th Annual Black Designers Tribute.

Bill Smith's life and designs are written about in the book Visionary Designs by Bill Smith. Bill Smith passed away on August 22, 1991.