President and designer Michelle VanBibber with Mike VanBibber at Pigeon Forge ExpoPigeon Forge BoothCiao Bella Jewelry president, Michelle VanBibber spent November first though the fourth in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the annual International Gift Expo of the Smokies in Pigeon Forge.  The show takes place during early November and is one of the biggest shows visited by resort and destination gift shops as they begin purchasing for the next year. Two other shows take place during this time: Smoky Mountain Gift Show in Gatlinburg and International Gift Expo of the Smokies in Sevierville and busses shuttle between shows. The booth had visitors from all over the world and met a wide range of clients from national parks to hair salons. Michelle is particularly excited for her new Canadian clients, including a polar bear conservancy and whale watching shop. Madame Peacock, a beer and bling shop from South Dakota, is one of the most unique shops Ciao Bella will be working with this year.Michelle says the next few months are going to be incredibly busy for the company. Many of there orders are due to ship out between January and May of 2018 so they are beginning their work now. Ciao Bella’s sales representatives will begin working with each company personally to finalize orders once the initial designs are complete. The company will be stationed in a showroom with Gib Carson Associates on the thirteenth floor of AmericasMart in building #2 come January.  Interested customers will be happy to find all of Ciao Bella’s newest products as well as its more traditional pieces. Michelle is looking forward to working with her new customers and continuing to add even more to the production schedule.

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Contemporary Matisse NecklaceCustom image pieces are Ciao Bella’s most unique product. The company takes pride in creating personalized products based on their customers individual needs. The company has created contemporary designs for art museums and Victorian inspired pieces for historic sites. Whatever the organization is looking for, Ciao Bella is able to make their idea a beautiful piece of jewelry. Ciao Bella’s image products are desireable to gift shops due to the low minimums, the large selection of customization, as well as the affordable pricing. Customers provide their own logos or images. From there, the images are sized, prepared, and placed with the desired metal sets. Finally, the images are permanently set and processed in a technique that has taken Ciao Bella years to master, and includes finishing with a blowtorch. Michelle VanBibber says, “great care goes into each piece,” because every final product is a permanent keepsake.Michelle has designed products for hundreds of companies such as NASA, Dollywood, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, Manassas Battlefield National Park, and Living Treasures Zoo. Her favorite design she ever created was a contemporary Matisse necklace. Ciao Bella will continue making custom image pieces because of the limited individualized options for companies. Their goal is to make unique products that represent each company they work with. 

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Pietra Chain Gemstone NecklaceStackable Pearl BraceletsTurquoise Chain PendantAs Fall and Winter continue making their way into the atmosphere Ciao Bella is hard at work coming up with new designs. Through inspiration of her new office space, Michelle VanBibber, has taken the industrial look in a different direction. Wanting to stay ahead of the game, Michelle is introducing a multitude of new products for this season, some of which are pictured above:Charm Disc Pendants Bar Bracelet with CharmsStackable Pearl BraceletsPietra Chain Gemstone NecklacesTriple Image BraceletIndustrial Image JewelryPet Breed JewelryWhen creating new products to add to collections Ciao Bella relies on local Pittsburgh shop, MoZaic Boutique, as a test market. “Owner Nancy Gilmore has a great eye for fashion and has been very helpful in giving her opinion on the new products,” says Michelle. Ciao Bella also uses past shows, such as the 2017 International Gift Exhibition in the Smokey Mountains, to gage and idea of what products will be successful and what one’s need to be altered for the 2018 exhibits. Michelle also designs her jewelry based on the Patone Color Predictor which is used by major fashion industries. Designers use this predictor to know what colors their upcoming collections should center around. Michelle prefers to use this software so her new designs coincide with what the major brands are coming out with. The new products were created in hopes of giving Ciao Bella a fresh look and new twist on current collection. They are available at www.CiaoBellaWholesale.com, AmericasMart in Atlanta, and Gib Carson showrooms #1319.

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After twelve years of working out of a home office in the Pittsburgh area, it was time for Ciao Bella Jewelry to make a move. Owner and designer, Michelle VanBibber, was on the hunt for a place to call the company’s new home. Her main goal when searching was to find a space that inspired her to come to work everyday and with a little bit of luck she found exactly what she was looking for.The building which holds Ciao Bella’s studio has been converted from an old barn to renovated offices. Michelle used the buildings history to inspire her design of rustic farm and industrial decor. When asked about the new office Michelle said, “in our old space I felt that my new designs were stagnant, in our new space the creative juices are flowing again!” Her favorite part of the office is the wall of mason jars which organizes all of her crystals. Not only has the new organization of the company influenced Michelle’s designs, but it has also helped other employees. The majority of Ciao Bella’s employees work from home and only saw the pieces of jewelry they made or finished products before shipment. With a now centralized location many of the employees come in to pick up design supplies and have the opportunity to see the production process from beginning to end. Operations manager, Judy Palmer, says “everyone is more self sufficient. Everything has a place and is easy to find when needed.”Michelle anticipates staying in this location for at least two years. Her goal is to expand Ciao Bella Jewelry to department stores, while keeping the boutique lines and custom products for gift shops. If this expansion project takes hold she will move to a larger office within this location. Ciao Bella has undergone numerous changes within the last few months and the increase in productivity and positivity have been a direct effect from these changes. Customers of Ciao Bella should be eager to see what new products the company comes up with because even more changes are ahead. 

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