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RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) will host the annual WJA In The Know Conference on March 10, 2015, at Convene, 730 Third Avenue, New York City. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. on the eighth floor.
"We've designed a program to address the myriad demands of today's busy professionals," said WJA's vice president of education, Katie Dominesey. "The day's topics focus on balancing work and home life, discovering inspiration, achieving corporate success, fostering innovation and maintaining integrity." Gretchen Rubin, the author of "The Happiness Project," will open the event at 9 a.m. with her presentation titled: The Happiness Project: Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. The session will be followed by a book signing for Rubin's newest book, "Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives," which explores how habits are the invisible architecture of a happy, strong and productive life. At 11 a.m., attendees will hear "Inside the Designers Studio: A Unique Retail and Design Relationship" with Laura Freedman, the owner of Broken English, a jewelry business with locations in New York City and Santa Monica, California. There will be two breakout sessions during the lunch break, including a one-on-one mentoring opportunity, organized by Cindy Edelstein of the Jewelers Resource Bureau, and the presentation "Talent is the Key to a Thriving Business," with Erika Weinstein, the CEO of eTeam Executive Search. At 1 p.m., Marcy A. McGinnis, a former vice president for CBS News, will speak on "The Power of Women: Leading With Ease," followed by a panel discussion at 1:45 titled "Do You? The State of Affairs in the Bridal Industry," with designer Maeve Gillies of MaeVona, editor Amanda Elser of The Knot and Jenny Luker, the president of the Platinum Guild International. The moderator is Tanya Dukes, the senior editor at Smart Work Media. The forum addresses consumer trends at 3 p.m., presented by trends forecaster Britt Bivens, the owner of Ace of Swords. To close the WJA In the Know conference, WJA will host keynote speaker Jennifer Hyman, the CEO of Rent the Runway, a retail service that provides designer dress and accessory rentals. Her presentation is titled "The Material Economy versus the Experiential Economy." From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the 27th floor of the Convene building, WJA's annual In The Spotlight evening event will take place, honoring regional chapters' Shining Stars -- those members who have given extraordinary service to their individual chapters throughout the past year. It also honors WJA DIVAS, the winners of the association's annual design competition. Tickets for day and evening events are available for early bird purchase until February 23 here: http://www.womensjewelryassociation.com/store.html?event_id=152
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