THE FOURTH ANNUAL INDEPENDENT HANDBAG DESIGNER AWARDS PROUDLY ANNOUNCES A SPARKLING NEW DESIGN CATEGORY.

 New York, New York, January 12, 2010 – Handbag Designer 101, the world’s handbag designer resource, announces that CRYSTALLIZED™, the brand for all loose cut crystals manufactured by Swarovski, will sponsor a sparkling category, inviting designers to create innovative new handbags and compete for the Award, “Best Use of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements for the 2010 Independent Handbag Designer Awards (IHDA)”. This unique collaboration inspires handbag designers to incorporate crystals as a creative ingredient, resulting in one of a kind, luxury designs”.

For the second time all registered designers may participate by submitting a detailed sketch of their handbag design, incorporating CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements. Designers are encouraged to create bags of any material or silhouette while utilizing crystal as embellishment, trimming or even as part of the core concept. The five best ideas will be chosen by the Handbag Designer 101 Preliminary Judging Panel, giving the selected designers access to CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements, to execute their final handbags for the annual awards ceremony on June 16, 2010 where the final winner will be announced.

 ”The Best Use of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements Award is a great addition to our prestigious competition,” said Emily Blumenthal, founder of Handbag Designer 101 and IHDA. “We are extremely excited to partner with CRYSTALLIZED™ as I know the participating designers will be just as inspired as we are about this collaboration. Swarovski’s origin was working with emerging designers to make beautiful things and we are flattered that they would go back to their roots and realize that true creativity still comes from that community. We are confident that we will find the next IT handbag designer and can only hope it is through this amazing new category.”

The team from CRYSTALLIZED™ will provide regular features and tips on Handbag Designer 101, including new crystal innovations and product launches, upcoming new colors, trend forecasts and application know how. The new content will be featured on Handbag Designer 101 and the Handbag Designer 101 Weekly Round-Up which reach the handbag designer community at large and handbag aficionados throughout the world.

At the fourth annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards 2009, held at the New York Historical Society, the clutch was the star of the night. Iconic british designer Lulu Guinness was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Handbag Design, having just released her Lips Collection, a line of jewellery and accessories all made with CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements and now available for purchase in Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ stores. Additionally, London College of Fashion student Lorna Nixon wowed the judges with her evening clutch design, winning in the Best Use of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements category. “I wanted to produce a structural bag, inspired by organic elements,” said Nixon.  A selection of the prize-winning pieces has been showcased in an exclusive exhibition at the New York Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ concept store.

“CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements makes it a priority to support and encourage the creativity and talent of the design community”, states Stephan Toljan, VP of Market Management. “It is our pleasure to have CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements sponsor  again the Independent Handbag Designer Awards and to have a handbag category that will both inspire and support designers to incorporate the creative material crystal in their one of a kind pieces.”

 The winner of the 2010 “Best Use of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements” award will receive a crystal sponsorship with free access to crystals and Swarovski know how, to produce a limited edition of the winner bag. In addition, the winning handbag will be featured in several CRYSTALLIZED™ channels and communication tools in the US and internationally with industry and end consumer exposure. Applications for the 2010 Independent Handbag Designer Awards will be available online at handbagdesigner101.com for the “Best Use of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements” by January 1st. The pinnacle of the international competition will culminate with the annual awards ceremony on June 16, 2010 at Parson’s School of Design.

 About Handbag Designer 101

Handbag Designer 101, the handbag designer resource was inspired by the needs for the handbag designer, aficionado and fan in all of us, as one knows we can never have too many bags. Handbag Designer 101 and Independent Handbag Designer Awards trademarks are owned by handbagdesigner101.com, a privately held company based in New York City.

 To Apply to the 3rd Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards: http://www.handbagdesigner101.com/independent_handbag_designer_awards

Handbag Designer 101: http://www.handbagdesigner101.com  or http://www.hbd101.com