MJSA Podcast

Jewelry artist Michelle Pajak-Reynolds handcrafts small collections of one-of-a-kind designs featuring unique gemstones, pearls, and ethically sourced precious metals. In this episide, she shares her five favorite, go-to tools, and describes the impact each has had on her productivity and creativity while at the bench. • Click Here for Show Notes, Links, and Resources • Learn more about MJSA

A goldsmith, graduate gemologist, and former human rights attorney, Christina Malle (Christina Malle Jewelry)  is committed to sourcing responsibly. A board member of Ethical Metalsmiths , she always uses Fairmined or certified recycled gold in her work, and she always sources gems from known, reliable vendors. In this podcast, she offers five ways to ensure the materials you're buying are indeed...

Founder of a family-run studio in Chico, California, goldsmith and gemologist Geralyn Sheridan creates socially responsible jewelry that incorporates natural textures, sculptural curves, and fl owing movement. She draws inspiration from her everyday life as well as from the memories of her childhood, and in this episode she describes how five such inspirations were translated into standout jewelry...

Those following advancements in jewelry technology in the last couple of decades, and those following MJSA, will no doubt recognize the name Gary Dawson. One of the of the most creative and technically adventurous jewelers out there today, Dawson is passionate about sharing his jewelry-making know-how and enthusiasm for custom design. In this episode, we spoke to Dawson about his personal experien...

2021, perhaps more than any other new year in recent memory, is filled with anticipation, expectation, and hope. In this episode, Andrea Hill shares five tips for businesses looking to improve and expand their online reach this year. She also suggests several valuable online tools and apps that can help encourage more innovative thinking and simplify content creation for your website and social me...

The global shutdown resulting from the COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented, and it's changing the jewelry industry on many levels. Companies of all sizes are facing serious economic disruptions, as business owners struggle to navigate through the uncertainty. In this episode of the MJSA podcast,  Erich Jacobs,  President of the  Jeweler's Board of Trade (JBT) , shares his analysis of how the crisis i...

Despite recent efforts by the jewelry industry to address transparency and tracing issues across the global supply chain, the conditions under which colored gemstones are sourced remain highly opaque and lack reliable independent verification.  In this episode,  Daniel Nyfeler, Managing Director of Gübelin Gem Lab , discusses his company's  Provenance Proof initiative , aimed at developing new tec...

Our guest on this episode is Dan Pharr , president of Pharr Valuation in Richmond, Virginia. With 30 years of jewelry industry experience, Dan specializes in business valuations of closely held and family owned businesses. In this interview, Dan discusses the best practices for business owners who want to exit their companies profitably while ensuring their legacies endure. He also explains how to...

Our guest on this episode,  Sara Yood , senior counsel at the  Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) , has made a career out of helping businesses wade through the myriad guidelines, regulations, and laws that apply to making and selling jewelry. It's not easy staying up to date—recent changes to the FTC guidelines, for instance, have changed how the industry can talk about karat gold, lab-grown gems...

Responsible sourcing and transparent supply chains are key topics in the jewelry trade and more important than ever to consumers. Award-winning jewelry designer and founder of the Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference (CRJC), Susan Wheeler , has emerged as a leading voice in the responsible jewelry movement. In this episode, Susan discusses her own journey toward responsible practices, the story...

With the current generation of master craftspeople aging out of the jewelry industry, demand for professionally skilled workers is high. But a number of barriers stand in the way of developing an effective education-to-employment pipeline for prospective jewelers, including issues such as pay scale disparities, gender bias, a lack of on-the-job training, and misaligned expectations between the ind...

Jewelry artist and gallery owner Llyn Strong made her first piece of jewelry in 1972, igniting a passion that would develop into a now 40-year career. Recipient of an Honorable Mention in the Custom Design Distinction category of the 2019 MJSA Vision Awards competition, Llyn is recognized for her signature collections and her distinctive custom designs. In this episode, Llyn discusses how she got...

Susan Crow—owner of East Fourth Street Jewelry in Northfield, Minnesota, and Responsible Practices Distinction winner in the 2019 MJSA Vision Awards—is dedicated to proper environmental, ethical, and sustainable practices. In this episode, she talks about the challenges and overall rewards of building a responsible supply chain and adopting green processes.

In this inaugural episode, host Travis Searle talks with  Marty Hurwitz ,  CEO of MVI Marketing , about the current status of lab-grown diamonds. They discuss the impact of bigger industry players like Signet, De Beers, and Richline entering the space, the revenue potential for retailers who are embracing lab-grown options, the marketing techniques jewelers are using to promote them to millennial-...