JB Jones began her career as a Design Director and Fashion Editor in Los Angeles. In 2008, JB switched gears and launched The Site Unscene, a street art gallery and artists’ platform. She curated the first West Coast exhibition of the NYC based graffiti crew TC-5, which included the work of Doze Green and Lady Pink, and was a leader in helping to establish street art as a legitimate force in the LA gallery scene. Upon moving to NYC in 2014, JB returned to fashion in a retail development capacity with a focus on jewelry. She co-curated the first street art x art jewelry exhibition, PLACEMENT, with Bella Neyman. In 2017 the duo launched a digital contemporary jewelry platform of the same name designed to promote the concept of “wearing your art.” Her work has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, Juxtapoz, Obey, Work magazine , and more. She resides in Manhattan.

Elliot Carlyle, known as “the brand. the voice.” is a New York City-based fashion & creative consultant, speaker, and coach with over a decade of tenure in the fashion industry. Elliot began his fashion career in production, working for Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week for many years. Since this time, he has seamlessly navigated multiple facets and roles within the fashion industry including public relations, model development, and creative direction. Elliot has worked with notable brands and organizations including Atlanta International Fashion Week, Obvious Magazine, and the Legendary Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight. He received his formal education at The Art Institute of Charleston, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta, earning a BFA in Fashion & Retail Management. Elliot now works in an executive capacity with award-winning creator of New York Fashion Week and international fashion & design consultant, Fern Mallis. Elliot is also the author of The Influence Workbook, a book filled with clarifying keys, liberating exercises, and empowering takeaways that will position you on a trajectory to get to your “next” by moving you beyond the questions and unblocking your personal power. As his career continues to evolve, Elliot is committed to executing his personal mission and brand statement, “building people for global influence.”

Bella Neyman is an independent curator and journalist specializing in contemporary jewelry. Since graduating with a Master’s Degree in Decorative Arts and Design History from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum & Parsons, The New School for Design in 2008, she has worked for some of New York City’s leading design galleries. For the last three years, she was the Director of New York’s only contemporary jewelry gallery. In addition to this, in 2014, along with Ruta Reifen, Bella founded Platforma, a contemporary jewelry-focused initiative whose exhibitions have been on view in the U.S. and Europe. Bella’s articles have been published in The New York Times, American Craft, and the magazine Antiques. She is also a frequent contributor Modern magazine and Metalsmith. Bella is on the Board of Art Jewelry Forum. She resides with her family in Brooklyn.

Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, Anuja Kapri is a jeweler and product designer currently based out of Philadelphia. She holds Bachelors Degrees from Drexel University in Design and Merchandising, Finance and International Business, where she received the program award for Design and Merchandising. She completed her Masters in Design from The University of the Arts (UArts) in Product Design where she developed her passion for jewelry and metals, winning the faculty award at graduation. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence for Jewelry and Metals, and a Product Design Fellow at UArts.

After graduating in MBA from Wurzburg University in Germany, Bahar attended the classes of Mr. Parviz Tanavoli, while pursuing her profession in luxury marketing in Iran, and started a parallel career in jewelery design. Her works have been showcased in some of the most prestigius art galleries in Iran. In addition to working with numerous major luxury brands in the last ten years, she also founded an online Platform for young and talented Middle Eastern jewelry designers, focusing on introducing and selling their art pieces to the market.

Odette Channell is a bench jeweler at Alex Šepkus. In addition to designing her own jewelry, she assists classes at Brooklyn Metalworks, and has previously worked as a studio technician for the Fashion Institute of Technology. A graduate of Pratt Institute, her work has appeared in various publications including Wild magazine. She currently lives in East Harlem.

Haris Kaminari is a jewelry maker and associate of sales and communications. Originally from Athens, Greece, Haris began her career as a graphic designer and software instructor in Athens, and turned to the study and making of jewelry in 2002, after recognizing her affinity to the medium. Her jewelry has been featured in the museum shops of the Benaki Museum and the National Museum of Modern Art (both in Athens, Greece), as well as other retail stores in Greece and Cyprus — where she has also participated in trade fairs and trunk shows. In 2013 and 2014, her work was included in “Myths” a group exhibition in Hamburg and Berlin. Haris has also worked as a designer and maker for various Greek jewelry companies, and as a sales and communications associate for internationally awarded Greek jewelry artists and object designers, including Nikos Koulis, Etho Maria, Yiannis Sergakis and Elena Xanthopoulou. Haris studied graphic and interior design at Vakalo Art and Design College, and received a certificate in jewelry making from the Hellenic School of Vocational Education. Since 2018, she has been living in Brooklyn, NY.

Olivia received her B.F.A. in Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing from Pratt Institute in 2014, along with an Outstanding Merit Award from the Department of Fine Arts. She has pursued a career in jewelry production and retail while simultaneously developing and creating work through her own line, Olivia Marie Handcrafted Adornment. Her personal interest in sustainability and its importance to the future of the jewelry industry led her to create “Ethics and Adornment,” NYCJW’s first panel devoted to the topic. Olivia is coordinating volunteers for NYCJW 2019, so reach out (here) if you are interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s events by helping out!

After graduating from Eugene Lang, the New School for Liberal Arts, Emilija spent two years in Lithuania volunteering for an NGO specializing in tutoring underserved children and taking geopolitical courses at Vilnius University. After returning to the states, she apprenticed as a jewelry photographer and worked as a sales associate at The Hat Shop where she eventually became the shop’s manager, working with the owner in production, design, promotion and sales. Emilija currently works for Alex Sepkus and is in charge of all the studio’s visual needs as well as social media. Her interests are expanding into communications and making her cats Tumblr famous.

Kellie Riggs (b.1986, Washington State) is a writer, critic and curator with a focus on Contemporary Jewelry. She received her BFA in Jewelry + Metalsmithing at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011, and upon graduating received a Fulbright Grant to Italy, where she remained for seven years between Rome and Florence. She has been an external editor at Dutch platform and magazine, Current Obsession, with whom she co-curated the exhibition CULT at the Design Museum den Bosch in 2016. Kellie has recently relocated to New York City to earn an arts management Masters at NYU, meanwhile having curated a New York Times reviewed exhibition for the Museum of Arts and Design called Non-Stick Nostalgia.

Recently returning from a residency at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Meg is a born and raised New Yorker. In 2012 she received her BFA in Metals from the State University of New York at New Paltz under Jamie Bennett, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Barb Smith, and Arthur Hash. Studying under Susie Ganch, she graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018 with a Masters degree in Craft and Material Studies. During her time at VCU, Meg stood as a committee member for the Ethical Metalsmiths student organization and was a juror for the 2017 and 2018 “So Fresh + So Clean” online exhibition. Having just completed a residency at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Meg’s most recent work blends her jewelry practice with her painting practice. While continuing to pursue her love of making, she also works at the Agnes Varis Art Center of UrbanGlass.

Rachel Chalik received her education at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was exposed to jewelry as craft. She became a 2017 Windgate Fellow with her work focusing on the human connection to objects with a focus on comfort felt from their use. Currently, she resides in Brooklyn and is working as a goldsmith in Manhattan for Reinstein/Ross Goldsmiths.

Tiffany studied jewelry under Mary Hallam Pearse at University of Georgia, graduating with a degree in Jewelry and Metalsmithing in 2016. Participating in Pearse’s NYC field study course inspired Tiffany to relocate to New York post-graduation and pursue a career in jewelry, combined with Communications and Client Interfacing. Since moving to NYC, Tiffany has worked for the designer Megan Patrice Riley, the former R|R Gallery in Meatpacking, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).  A strongly curated network of artists, designers, collectors and clients combined with a unique creative vision drew the attention of the founders of NYCJW. Charged with building the week’s Social Media presence and Special Events, she spearheads NYCJW’s conversation with the world about what defines the NYC jewelry scene.

Pasha Moezzi is an international material artist residing in Toronto. Developing his skills at his father’s long-running furniture studio in Tehran, Pasha grew up in an intimate atmosphere, working and understanding materials. Later, he obtained his Fine Arts diploma from Langara College (Vancouver), completed his BFA in Design Arts at Concordia University (Montreal), and has also completed his goldsmith training at George Brown College (Toronto) where he graduated from the Jewellery Arts program in 2015. His work has been recognized by several awards and competitions–showcased at solo and group exhibitions in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Boston, New York, New Orleans and Tehran. Pasha was accepted as an Artist-in-Residence at Harbourfront Centre in 2015. Today, he works out of his studio in east Toronto, designing new pieces and creating artisan installations.

Meg Wachs recently received her Master’s degree in Craft and Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Metals from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Outside of her own studio practice, she has worked for artists in the tri-state area such as Meghan Patrice Riley at MPR in Brooklyn and for Ayesha Mayadas at her Englewood, NJ studio and gallery. During her time at VCU, Meg stood as a committee member for the Ethical Metalsmiths student organization and was a juror for the 2017 and 2018 “So Fresh + So Clean” online exhibition. She is currently at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for a residency through Fall 2019.