The former teacher, described as “a pioneer for women-owned businesses,” opened her own jewelry store in 1980.
Meet JA New York’s New Designer Gallery
Eleven new faces will make their jewelry trade show debuts this weekend.

New York--At the upcoming JA New York Summer show, 10 brands will make their jewelry trade show debuts.
Exhibiting in the show’s New Designer Gallery, here’s a sneak peek of what this fresh crop of designers has to offer.
Brand: Victoria Young
Design Style: Sleek satin finishes accentuate the brand’s mature take on elegant stacking bands and drop earrings.
Don’t Miss: The geometric hoop earrings. Just when you thought you’d seen every variation of a hoop imaginable, Victoria Young has brought something new to the game.
Brand: May Came Home
Design Style: Vivid enamel in colors reminiscent of pop art are the signature element uniting May Came Home pendants and signet rings.
Interesting to Note: Designer Deborah Halperin boasts an impressive set of credentials, including degrees from FIT and Pratt, and stints at Robert Lee Morris and Tiffany & Co. She formerly had an eponymous jewelry line.
Brand: Susan Highsmith
Design Style: Intricate hand-carved details lend a special romanticism to Susan Highsmith’s engagement rings, earrings and pendants.
Fun Fact: The current Brooklynite and Illinois native is inspired by her father’s cousin, Richard Nickel, who devoted his life to preserving Chicago’s architecture.

Brand: Merzatta
Design Style: The art jewelry brand is focused on communicating natural textures through jewelry; think entire collections dedicated to capturing the porousness of pinecones or delicate laciness of sea fan coral.
Interesting to Note: The collection is designed by a husband-and-wife duo who met in art school.

Brand: Jill Kathleen Designs
Design Style: Jill Kathleen Designs is inspired by Baroque and Victorian ornamentation, but modernizes these influences for the 21st century woman.
Don’t Miss: Her sculptural Fairmined gold and fair trade gemstone and diamond engagement rings with their unique-yet-understated settings.
Brand: Hi June Parker
Design Style: Hi June Parker shines a spotlight on what might typically be ignored—negative spaces, accentuating them with contrasting pops of diamonds and gemstones.
Fun Fact: Her signature “Cross-Sections” motif was inspired by examining objects from different angles in appreciation of their structures not readily apparent to the eye.

Brand: Darsana
Design Style: Darsana is comprised of sentimental pieces meant to be passed down to future generations that incorporate pieces of antique mirror set in gold.
Fun Fact: The first piece of jewelry she made was a one of her signature mirror pendants for her daughter Lucy upon her high school graduation.
Brand: Aimee Kennedy
Design Style: Aimee Kennedy is a seller of alternative engagement rings, pairing
Don’t Miss: The brand’s stacking bands, a fun alternative to the solitaire bridal style.

Brand: Emily Kuvin
Design Style: Wearable, everyday-appropriate items constitute the core of Emily Kuvin’s creations, interlaced with subtle pops of color.
Don’t Miss: The brand’s signature starburst motif, which is organic in shape and bold in appearance.

Brand: Imperfect Grace
Design Style: Reminiscent of building blocks, many of Imperfect Grace’s geometric wares, such as the stacking rings, nestle into each other.
Perfect For: The self-purchaser who likes her jewelry fun but with a little edge courtesy of rhodium-plated sterling silver.
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