If you ask Yana Zhu, Skyler Bonolo, and Ariana Levy Stern for their first impressions of the 2022 JCK Las Vegas show, you’ll hear phrases such as “incredibly huge,” “sheer quantity of booths,” and, of course, “volume of product.”
Zhu, Bonolo, and Stern were part of the student contingent attending the JCK show thanks to the Plumb Club’s Shaping the Future program, which puts three recent grads from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) plumb in the middle of the show and all of the action.
“I was full of excitement and curiosity from the moment I entered until the last day when we assisted with the break down,” Stern says. “Even having ample opportunity to walk around and explore, I did not even make a dent in all of the booths I wanted to visit, which just means I’ll have to go back.”
The three students—Zhu, Stern, and Bonolo—also got to work the floor, handle some social media for the Plumb Club, and walk the entire space inside The Venetian to learn more about the jewelry industry and why the JCK show is an experience that one never will forget.
The Plumb Club’s marketing director Michael O’Connor developed this program along with Kim Nelson, who is assistant chair of jewelry design and the fashion department at FIT, and Michael Coan, assistant professor of jewelry design, as a way to mentor students and help them gain practical experience that can help them become part of the jewelry industry quickly and in a meaningful way, O’Connor says.
“You’re thrown in the deep end,” O’Connor says. “It’s a great springboard for these students, as many of them have ended up in the industry. We’re proud of it as the Plumb Club because your ability to grow in the jewelry industry is limitless, and we expose the jewelry industry to this new pool of talent. The potential is all there.”
Since it began in 2021, the Plumb Club’s Shaping the Future program has mentored 10 graduating students, provided internships, helped with job opportunities, and awarded five total students a hands-on “JCK experience,” O’Connor says.
“It’s fun because you get to see the show again through their eyes,” O’Connor says.
For Bonolo, what stands out the most for him from this year’s show was visiting the Gem section.
“It was incredible to be able to see so many gemstones in one place. I was excited to shop and met so many new people along the way,” Bonolo says. “I learned about the technical side of the jewelry industry you don’t see as often—3D printers, light boxes, and tools of every kind. It is amazing to me that I was exposed to new and innovative products that will help me in my career.”
For Zhu, he says he was impressed with how the show covers “every part of the industry and many regions of the world.”
“Each booth had its own way to get attention, yet there was one that hired a professional engraver to perform in person that really got me,” Zhu says. “The trends in the industry are always evolving, and I saw some efficient 3D programs that may be used to design jewelry. They are at a new and professional level, yet I had not heard any information about them prior to or outside of the JCK show.”
Stern says the show made her even more thrilled to learn about the jewelry industry and to see new ways to grow in her new profession.
“The part of the industry I learned about the most was the wholesale aspect, particularly as it relates to larger volume of product,” Stern says. “Having recently graduated, my main experience was with custom design work and small-scale production. It was incredible to have access to some of the largest and well-regarded jewelry manufacturers in the industry.”
Top: Three recent FIT grads, Yana Zhu, Skyler Bonolo, and Ariana Levy Stern, attended the JCK Las Vegas show as guests of the Plumb Club’s Shaping the Future mentorship program (photos courtesy of the Plumb Club).
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