Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l (CJCI) is an international network dedicated to the study, promotion and wear of collectible costume jewelry. We bring people together through yearly conventions held around the United States and social networking on our NING site, Facebook and Twitter.

How did CJCI come about?

Like many of their jewelry-collecting friends, Melinda Lewis and Pamela Wiggins were saddened when they learned of Lucille Tempesta’s retirement in the last issue of VFCJ’s newsletter. They were left with a void knowing an organization they had been a part of for so many years ceased to exist.

After a number of email exchanges, a lengthy phone conversation, and consulting with their significant others, Melinda and Pamela agreed they could pool their talents and went to work immediately. Melinda employed her skills to quickly put together the group’s Web presence, and Pamela called on her public relations background to begin getting word out about the new club. Within a month of that first conversation about CJCI, they already had more than 200 members join them in their new venture, which includes a thriving online community comprised of enthusiastic collectors.

During 2010 Melinda and Pam published CJCI Magazine, but found that they could not continue to do so without an adequate operating budget in place. Efforts were made to garner donor support to bring the magazine back to life in 2011, but they fell short of their goal. However, they did go to hold a very successful CJCI Convention in Rhode Island in October 2011 with the assistance of their significant others Mark Lewis and Jay Siegel. While they will not be publishing a magazine going forward, they will continue to hold yearly conventions and nurture their online communities.

How can you join CJCI?

Please visit http://www.costumejewelrycollectors.com/membership.htm for more information on participating in CJCI.  

How can you assist CJCI?

If you are inspired to participate on CJCI Social Network to host or moderate a topic, we welcome your assistance!  You can also donate to CJCI to help us offset our operating expenses.

Is it OK to share news about CJCI with others?

Absolutely! Visit our Help Promote CJCI page to learn about a number of different ways you can assist us in getting the word out about CJCI.

Need assistance with something else?

There’s a good chance we’ve covered it on our FAQ page:

http://www.costumejewelrycollectors.com/faq.htm

 

or, our Help page: 

http://www.costumejewelrycollectors.com/help.htm