JA, BIJC Award Grants to Four Rising Jewelers in 2024

The Black in Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) and Jewelers of America (JA) have revealed the grant recipients from this year’s accelerator program.

The groups announced the establishment of the Emerging Jeweler Accelerator Program (EJAP), a series of interactive workshops they created to provide new retail jewelry entrepreneurs with the education to build and grow a thriving business in the jewelry industry, in 2023. This year, the first cohort of four jewelers successfully completed the program and have been awarded grants, the JA said last week.

Grant recipients for 2024 were: Patricia Carruth of Your Personal Jeweler in Royal Oak, Michigan; Cloyette Harris-Stoute of Twin Elegance Jewelry in St. Albans, New York; Soojin Kim of Suu Atelier in Los Angeles, California; and Ashley Perryman of Jewelry Lady in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

“The inaugural Emerging Jewelers Accelerator Program was a huge success,” said JA CEO David Bonaparte. “The program’s cohort and our subject matter experts were fully engaged throughout the program, making a positive learning environment to generate real business impact.”  

Beginning early next year, BIJC and JA will launch a second edition of the program with six retail jewelers. The eight-month program culminates in a presentation project where participants explain how they plan to utilize the program’s educational content to benefit their business. One of the six will win a $10,000 grant, while the other participants will get $4,000 each. 

“We are looking forward to another wonderful year of the Emerging Jewelers Accelerator Program. Starting and maintaining a successful retail jewelry business is not an easy task, and we hope that through our subject-matter expert-led workshops, we can ensure a long legacy of making their clients’ dreams a reality,” said BIJC president Malyia McNaughton. 

Applications are now open for subject matter experts and participants, through November 22, 2024.

Image: a jewelry display. (Shutterstock)