100 WOMEN OF JEWELRY

LINDA KOZLOFF-TURNER'S BOOK SHOWCASING THE WORK AND JOURNEY OF 100 FEMALE ARTISTS & DESIGNERS IN THE JEWELRY INDUSTRY

I had the pleasure of meeting Linda Kozloff-Turner, the author of the upcoming book and exhibition "100 Women of Jewelry" last year when we both participated on a panel about, well...women in jewelry! Linda and I, along with several other women of the industry, participated in an online webinar for the CREA school in Geneva hosted by Donatella Zappieri. We each spoke a bit about our backgrounds and what we felt our contribution, or "special sauce" as Donatella called it, was as a woman in a predominately male industry. It was inspiring to hear more about some of my colleagues and a privilege to have been asked to participate.

Linda has been working in the jewelry industry since 1972 and has degrees in both photography and jewelry design. She is a bench jeweler by trade as well as owner and designer of her family-run design studio Christine Marguerite Designs which offers custom jewels to private clientele in Boulder, Colorado. And if all of that and writing a book wasn't enough, Linda is also finishing her Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

"As one of the only women jewelers, jewelry designers and owners of a studio in Boulder Colorado, a progressive community, I did encounter some obstacles that made me sit up one day and ask myself if I was the only woman going through what those issues were. I set out upon a journey to understand what 100 other women were encountering, and how they resolved those problems".

When I first met Linda last year and listened to her story about the book and that she had already interviewed almost 100 female artists and designers in the jewelry industry (at the time of publication she had just finished number 97), I was amazed. Amazed at her wholeheartedness, dedication, and the creativity with which she is shining a light on these women creators. While The Glitterati is by far not the same body of work as Linda's homage to the female designers and artists of the industry, her passion for putting inspiring women center stage obviously resonated with me and made me eager to talk more with her. ,

Linda's vision to create a book showcasing 100 women's journey and work combined with a museum-type exhibition displaying the actual jewelry is ingenious and innovative. "It is my intent to curate the largest woman's jewelry exhibition known to date," she says during our chat, adding, "Every woman I select to be included in this project brings a unique perspective to the process and final product, and in the end, the work speaks for itself. I have a refined set of criteria for my artist selections, I insist on including diversity in culture and style in the project, and to provide the reader with a global perspective. And the final criteria? The artist has to have one hell of a story!".

Having seen some of the book, I can confirm that the work does indeed speak for itself. It's quite moving to read some of these women's stories, Linda does a wonderful job of creating a kind of intimacy that makes you feel like you were present during their conversation. The cherry(s) on top are Hardy Klahold's stunning black and white portraits which capture the soul of each woman and are the perfect companion to Linda's interviews.

"I have just done my 97th interview, and every woman I have included has such insight, perseverance, and determination regardless of what life has thrown at them. Most of what we see today on social media is branded information and does not tell the real story of the woman behind the brand. That is the job I have taken on. This book is educational, informational, and inspirational to everyone in the jewelry industry," Linda tells me with conviction. I think I speak for all of us when I say, we can't wait Linda!

100 Women of Jewelry is written by Linda Kozloff-Turner, photos by Hardy Klahold and edited by New York Times editor Frank Stankus who is the co-author of 'Brilliance' and the husband of the late Cindy Edelstein. The book is in the finishing stages, all but 2 interviews were finished end of 2020 with a few portraits left to shoot when the COVID pandemic hit. Linda hopes to have everything completed sometime in 2021 and is in talks with several people to produce the exhibition.

Linda Kozloff-Turner is the author of 100 Women of Jewelry and owner of Christine Marguerite Designs in Boulder, Colorado. Find Linda on Instagram @womenofjewelry

N.B: For the sake of this article and in coherence with Linda's book title, the writing has been done in US English rather than our usual UK English.