Defining Design
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
7:00-8:00pm EST
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Kim Nelson will be our guest speaker.
Kim Nelson | Assistant Chair of Jewelry Design | Fashion Department
Fashion Institute of Technology | Assistant Professor
(212) 217-5745
From a Christies catalog. Kim created the layout of the cover with an overlay of the design (which was featured within the article).
This presentation will focus on how the definition of what jewelry design is has shifted over the past thirty years. Economic trends in the jewelry industry combined with the dramatic impacts brought about by expanding social media, the proliferation of CAD technologies, and disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, have reshaped the jewelry design and development process. These changes have left behind important questions. What were the demands for jewelry design in the past, and what are they now? How has the CAD revolution impacted jewelry design as a medium and a profession? How have hiring trends evolved, and what does the future look like for commercial as well as independent jewelry designers? This presentation will consider these questions using perspectives accumulated over thirty years as a professional jewelry designer and more than a decade as a jewelry design educator.
Kim Nelson is currently the Assistant Chair over the Jewelry Design program at The Fashion Institute of Technology, where he has taught as full-time faculty since 2013 and as an adjunct professor for four years prior to that. Kim entered the jewelry industry in 1993, following a successful career as an editorial illustrator. He started his jewelry career by completing the one-year AAS program in Jewelry Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology. While still a student at FIT, he began working for Carvin French Jewelers as a free-lance designer, and was hired as their in-house designer upon graduation. Kim worked with Carvin French for three years before accepting an offer to work as a senior designer for Stuller Inc., in Lafayette Louisiana. After three years with Stuller, he returned to New York to work again with Carvin French, where his responsibilities were expanded to include quality assurance and increased interactions with the workshop. In 2003, Kim entered into a full-time dedicated contractor agreement with Stuller, and he maintained that working relationship for ten years.
While working with Stuller, Kim was exposed to CAD/CAM technologies. He began working digitally in 1998, becoming a certified Rhino instructor in 2001. In addition to his experience with Carvin French and Stuller, Kim has also maintained a successful free-lance business offering design, CAD modeling, CAM production, and CAD/CAM consulting and training services. He also creates bespoke pieces for private clients. His design awards include a PGI award, a JCK Buyer’s choice award, and a Diamonds International Finalist award