“The South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and supporting jewelry artists of all media through cooperative ventures and heightened community awareness”

Founded in 2005 by retired advertising executives Adrienne Gaskell and Joyce Nelson, the South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild is a thriving jewelry arts community including metalsmiths, glass lampworkers, bead artists and others who incorporate novel and diverse materials as well as the traditional gems and metals in their work. Goldsmiths, glass bead makers, beadweavers, metal and polymer clay artists, wire-wrappers and stringers meet monthly for what has become a dynamic network of jewelry artists in the tri-county area.

JAG offers lectures on beading history, techniques, marketing and design. The organization compiles and shares information on jewelry classes, workshops and services, and provides networking opportunities.

What began as a garden variety Bead Society has bloomed into a whole new concept in the art world. Introducing the all new South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild, reflecting the contemporary trend among jewelry designers to incorporate novel and diverse materials. Jewelry design has burgeoned into the art of mini-sculpture, commonly incorporating such materials as glass beads, polymer clay, silver and gold metal clay, in addition to the traditional gems and metals.

Adrienne Gaskell and Joyce Nelson conceived the idea for the bead society in 2005 to fill the need for a thriving jewelry arts community in South Florida. The mandate was the dissemination of information and the extension of moral and professional support to the beaders and jewelers in the Miami area.

The two newly retired advertising executives generously invited seed-beaders, glass bead makers, goldsmiths, metal and polymer clay artists, wire-wrappers and stringers to meet monthly for what has burgeoned into an exciting and fertile network of jewelry artists. In this manner, these two dynamic women managed to harness the proliferation of modern jewelry techniques that designers have been enjoying in recent years.

Members of the SFJAG enjoy the advantages inherent in broad spectrum organizations, such as the cross-pollination of design ideas and discussion of art concepts and concerns, balanced with sufficient commonality in the activities of the group to allow the comparison of such details as beading thread and torch gas. SFJAG offers seminars on beading history, techniques, marketing and design. The organization compiles and shares information on beading and jewelry classes, workshops and services, in addition to providing the venue for networking with others in the craft.