Six jewelers from five different brands make up the first cohort of the Emerging Jewelers Accelerator Program, an eight-month series of workshops and networking opportunities aimed at building the skills to be successful in the jewelry industry.
The cohort, which was announced Jan. 24, includes Trish Carruth, Your Personal Jeweler in Royal Oak, Mich.; Cloyette Harris-Stoute, Twin Elegance Jewelry in St. Albans, N.Y.; Soojin Kim, Suu Atelier in Los Angeles; Madeline and Karen Ormaza, Armonia Jewelry in Lawrence, Mass.; and Ashley Perryman of Jewelry Lady, Indianapolis.
Emerging Jewelers Accelerator is a partnership between the Black in Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) and Jewelers of America. Both organizations have longstanding commitments to professional development in all aspects of the industry, from bench jewelers to designers to executives.
The program, which is supported by the JCK Industry Fund, kicks off this month with a workshop on business strategy led by Valerie Madison of Seattle’s Valerie Madison Fine Jewelry. Other workshops on core business and jewelry topics will follow, all taught by industry veterans, who can serve as mentors to cohort participants. Workshops will cover such subjects as accounting, human resources and operations, legal matters, product development, jewelry forensics, ethical sourcing, sales, marketing, security, and insurance.
“We are excited to see how our subject-matter experts and cohort work together over the next few months to develop and support the next generation of jewelers,” says Sharie Fogarty, an Emerging Jewelers Accelerator Program committee member.
Serving on the committee with Fogarty are fellow Jewelers of America staff members Regina Ciarleglio, Annie Doresca, Molly Fallon, Dahlia Fyffe, Amanda Gizzi, and Susan Posnock, along with Adrianne Sanogo, Black in Jewelry Coalition board member; Lisa Jones, from GIA; and Malyia McNaughton, of Made by Malyia.
Following the workshops, Emerging Jewelers Accelerator Program participants will create presentations on what they learned from the educational sessions and how they are going to use that information to grow their business. One company represented in the cohort will win a $5,000 grant to fulfill that mission; the other four brands will receive $1,250 grants.
Over the long term, this initial cohort will continue to work with the BIJC, Jewelers of America, and industry mentors through periodic check-ins, quarterly workshops, and attendance at trade events, according to a statement from the BIJC and Jewelers of America.
“These jewelers have tremendous business acumen, and we know that they will come away with even deeper knowledge in the jewelry industry, which will result in businesses that will be successful for years and years to come,” said McNaughton, who is president of the BIJC, in a statement.
(Top photo courtesy of Jewelers of America)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
