The Portland Jewelry Symposium has announced its dates, keynote speaker, and session presenters for 2019.
The annual educational event for jewelry manufacturers and retailers will take place Sept. 29–30 at the historic Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland, Ore. The keynote will be delivered by award-winning jewelry designer Zoltan David. In a prepared statement, Teresa Frye, founder of the Portland Jewelry Symposium, called David “a true master of designing and creating in diverse metals.” She said David will be “sharing personal inspirations and practical applications from his creative process, considering the important role of design, the power of the art, and the marriage of these two creative methods.”
This year’s theme is “Metals: Methods, Machines and Mastery.” Frye said, “Understanding and exploiting the intrinsic characteristics of a metal, whether through design, casting methods, or tailored bench techniques, is very powerful for makers.” She added, “The design palette becomes broader when one can harness not only the aesthetic property of an alloy, but also the technical underpinnings that lead to the production of a high-quality piece.”
New this year at the symposium will be Sunday-afternoon breakout sessions designed for small groups. Topics will include jewelry forensics with Elizabeth Brehmer, JMA technical advisor for GIA; basic metallurgy for jewelers; legal considerations for custom design (led by Tiffany Stevens, president, CEO, and general counsel for the Jewelers Vigilance Committee); and inlay techniques with renown jewelry designer Chris Ploof.
Monday’s mainstage program will feature manufacturing techniques in contemporary metals, a panel on jewelry casting, and a bench presentation with Stuller. See the full lineup of speakers and sessions here.
Top: Portland Jewelry Symposium keynote speaker Zoltan David (photo courtesy of Zoltan David)
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