Team

Bella Neyman is an independent curator and journalist specializing in contemporary jewelry. Since graduating with a Master’s Degree in Decorative Arts and Design History from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum & Parsons, The New School for Design in 2008, she has worked for some of New York City’s leading design galleries. For the last three years, she was the Director of New York’s only contemporary jewelry gallery. In addition to this, in 2014, along with Ruta Reifen, Bella founded Platforma, a contemporary jewelry-focused initiative whose exhibitions have been on view in the U.S. and Europe. Bella’s articles have been published in The New York Times, American Craft, and the magazine Antiques. She is also a frequent contributor Modern magazine and Metalsmith. Bella is on the Board of Art Jewelry Forum. She resides with her family in Brooklyn.

Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Chantel is a jewelry factotum. Over the past twenty years, she has consulted as a diamond buyer, studio manager, gemologist, appraiser, as well as in business operations and administration. She is a Graduate Gemologist and Registered MasterValuer. Her unique set of skills, honed in the studio jewelry world, is complemented by her formal training as a metalsmith. Chantel holds a BFA from NSCAD University and an MFA from MassArt where her studies focused on drawing parallels between crystal growth and the human condition. She maintains an active studio practice while championing projects that give international exposure to the Canadian art jewelry community.

Born in Mozambique and raised around the world, Nandhi is a Digital Media Specialist with a deep appreciation for the transformative power of visual storytelling. A graduate of Bard College, her work experience has been somewhat of a continuation of her liberal arts education. Nandhi has worked in fashion, film, philanthropy, social justice, and most recently fine jewelry. This diverse work history has fostered a versatile visual language which she continues to develop and apply to projects, with brands and organizations across sectors. Following her role as Communications & Gallery Associate at Mahnaz Collection, Nandhi founded Virgo Studio, a digital media agency dedicated to realizing the strategic vision of brands and organizations through engaging digital design.

Ariana is a writer and researcher specializing in jewelry history and criticism. With a background in fashion merchandising, she is particularly interested in approaching jewelry from a fashion studies perspective. Ariana’s most recent publications include “The Importance of Being Jeweled: Patriotism and Adornment During the First World War” for The Journal of Dress History and “The Claudette Colbert Starfish,” published by the American Society of Jewelry Historians. Today, as she pursues a Master’s degree in Decorative Arts and Design History at the Bard Graduate Center, Ariana’s research focuses on design piracy within the American costume jewelry industry.

Jacqueline Y. Yao is from Tsingtao, China, a seaside city famous for beer. Her major during college was Athletic Training – Tennis. She had the opportunity to work in the jewelry field for two years which evoked her passion for art, she decided to come to the United States to further her studies.

Yao completed the Savannah College of Art and Design,  Jewelry MFA program in March 2022. After graduating, she worked as a stone setter at Tiffany & Co. for one and a half years. Yao never stopped developing her work as a jeweler and artist.  She has had the opportunity to participate in many meaningful exhibitions over the past five years, such as NYC Jewelry Week, American Craft Show, Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show, Autor International Contemporary Jewelry Fair, and A Gallery – Window…Her works have been featured in British Vogue, Traveller, and Glamour. This is her third-year internship at NYCJW. She loves working and growing with NYCJW.