The “Les Pétales” collection imagines roses caught mid-bloom as a tribute to nature’s beauty.
WJA Announces 2019 Scholarship and Grant Winners
The Women’s Jewelry Association will award $65,500 total to 49 women this year.

New York—The Women’s Jewelry Association will award $65,500 in grants and scholarships to 49 women this year.
The recipients will use the funds to underwrite education and advance their professional careers.
“Our grant and scholarship winners are an impressive group,” Executive Director Bernadette Mack said. “Helping women enter and sustain careers in the jewelry business is one of the most important goals of the Women’s Jewelry Association.”
The recipients are as follows.
--The Carelle-WJA Grant Winner ($5,000): Anne Holman and Jen Townsend, The Smithery
Holman and Townsend developed their own jewelry businesses before they decided to collaborate. Together they built The Smithery, a shop and metalsmith studio focused on contemporary jewelry and modern craft located in Columbus, Ohio.
It features their own jewelry, as well as over 70 American and international artists. It also has an exhibition gallery and classroom area offering jewelry and enameling workshops.
Holman and Townsend plan to use their grant to create a separate studio space and acquire additional tools for more classes.
--The Female Veteran Scholarship ($5,000): Nora Micheli Hernandez
Micheli Hernandez is currently a student at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas, slated to graduate later this year with certificates in jewelry repair, computer-aided design and jewelry technology.
Hernandez is a disabled veteran of the U.S. Army. She plans on creating custom jewelry and working with other disabled veterans, and will use the WJA grant money to buy the equipment and supplies needed to set up her studio.
--The Cindy Edelstein Jewelry Design Scholarship ($5,000): Coco de Salazar
De Salazar is a jewelry designer and artist in Miami, Florida. She has been metalsmithing for nine years and currently teaches fabrication and soldering classes at Jewelry Creations Workshop in North Miami.
Her jewelry line, De Salazar Jewelry, is designed and produced in her private Miami studio. De Salazar is also a graphic designer and fine arts photographer, focusing on branding, marketing and design needs for clients.
She
--The Gabriel Love Foundation Scholarship ($5,000): Xabrina Michel’li Thompson
Michel’li Thompson is a 22-year-old graduate of one of South Africa’s leading girls’ schools, Epworth High School. She will use her scholarship funds toward a graduate gemologist diploma from GIA, which she is currently working toward.
Thompson currently works in the jewelry industry, traveling widely to market and source jewelry products.
She plans to develop a freshwater pearl, colored stone and sterling silver jewelry brand and also wants to establish a WJA chapter in her home country in South Africa.
--The June Herman Designer/Creator Scholarship ($5,000): Qianwen Lu
Qianwen Lu is a student at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she is studying towards her degree in jewelry design. She plans to continue studying jewelry in a post-graduate course.
--The Peggy Kirby Designer Scholarship ($5,000): Hsinyu Chu
Hsinyu Chu received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in fashion design and Master of Fine Arts in jewelry metal art at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She also studied at the now-closed Revere Academy.
Chu received a jewelry design and technology diploma and a graduate jeweler diploma from GIA and is a student in its graduate pearls program. In 2017, she launched her jewelry workshop, JC Art & Design, in San Francisco’s Mission District before moving it to Milpitas, California.
Chu would also like to become an appraiser and wishes to take an appraisal course.
Students scholarships also will be awarded to the following.
--Designer/Creator: Lauren Delbracco ($3,000), Xun Liu ($2,500), Zoe Larson ($1,500) and Melissa Cousins ($1,000);
--Designer: Mengjie Zhang ($2,000) and Xinchen LI ($1,000); and
--Non-Designer: Bonnie Cornell ($3,000), Jennifer Pollard ($2,500), Katie Soule ($1,500) and Laura Marsolek ($1,000).
WJA previously announced that 32 member grants of $500 each would be awarded to recipients around the country. They are as follows.
--Austin: Jen Leddy-Barnes;
--Boston: Wendy Jo New;
--Chicago: Sue Rosengard, Anne Van der Meulen and Olivia Zale;
--Colorado: Alexandra Fitzgerald;
--Dallas: Kelly Grise and Patricia Schrag;
--Houston: Maggie Segrich;
--Los Angeles: Harvinder Keila;
--Miami: Tiffany Joachim;
--Northern California: Sara Beck, Christy Comstock and Brittany Stadtmiller;
--NY Metro: Kristine Cabanban, AnnaLisa Cervi, Christine Malle, Stephanie Maslow Blackman and Annmarie Sclafani Stewart;
--Ohio/Kentucky: Christina Miller and Leslie Wright;
--Philadelphia: Christine Alaniz;
--Providence: Jennifer Skiba;
--Raleigh: Martha D'Alessandro;
--San Diego: Laura Fischer, Niki Grandics and Kathleen Lynagh House;
--Seattle: Nancy Castillo and Jessica Herner;
--Twin Cities: Jennifer Bellefleur and Dawn Bruggeman; and
--Charlotte Preston “Get’s it Done” Grant: Betsy Sanders.
Funds for WJA scholarships and grants are raised through the annual Awards for Excellence Gala, individual member donations and sponsorships.
This year’s AFE gala will be held on Monday, July 29 at Pier 60 in New York, once again featuring a silent auction and raffle. The event also will honor three industry visionaries.
Tickets to the awards gala are available at WomensJewelryAssociation.com.
The Latest

Luxury brands charge thousands for their shoes and handbags. Jewelers pricing diamond products should take note, Peter Smith writes.

It follows New York-based brand Shahla Karimi Jewelry’s all-women team in “Say Yes to the Dress” meets “The Office”-style episodes.

The Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship from Jewelers of America returns for a second year.

In its inaugural year, the SMO Foundation will focus on supporting two organizations in West Africa and one in South America.


The announcement comes just as the 90-day freeze on the “reciprocal” tariffs nears its end, giving countries more time to negotiate.

Kellie, who joined the organization in 2019, will remain in his role through the end of 2025.

The countdown is on for the JCK Las Vegas Show and JA is pulling out all the stops.

Police officers apprehended the suspects as they were allegedly attempting to gain entry into another jewelry store.

The program, a collaboration between Julius Klein Diamonds and the Women’s Jewelry Association, is in its second year.

Sponsored by the Gemological Institute of America

The 2025 Australian Open champion is the jewelry brand’s first athlete ambassador.

The West Village jewelry boutique’s new shop-in-shop is the cornerstone of Nordstrom’s revamped jewelry hall.

This past year, the manufacturer said it recorded below-zero emissions per carat of natural diamond.

The brand’s “Golden Strada” statement necklace features round, marquise, and pear diamonds that sparkle like Fourth of July fireworks.

JSA’s Scott Guginsky provided a list of nine security measures jewelers should observe while locking up for the long weekend.

Located on Rodeo Drive, the store’s design was inspired by Hollywood and Los Angeles culture.

The new location continues the brand’s celebration of its 25th anniversary.

The online watch marketplace’s “Time Is Our Thing” campaign highlights the importance of time.

She will oversee strategic planning, fundraising, industry partnerships, and the launch of the Gem Legacy Campus in Tanzania.

Working with Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit and law enforcement, Pandora helped to shut down a large-scale counterfeit network in China.

The jewelry company has closed its three California brick-and-mortar stores, as well as its online shop, for now.

The company is providing the opportunity for an FIT student to work alongside master diamond cutter Willie Lopez in its workshop.

The jewelry store chain has reportedly been struggling with costs related to tariffs as well as tough retail competition.

Welcome warm summer days with red hot rubies perfectly chosen as July’s birthstone.

Co-founders Afzal Imram and Lin Ruiyin brought their son’s story of a cosmic egg, toadstool, and railroad to life in their new collection.

The best time to prepare for the holiday season is right now, according to columnist Emmanuel Raheb.