Call for members to join UK Chapter of Women’s Jewelry Association
May 2016 – Women in the UK jewellery industry are being invited to register their interest in joining the first UK Chapter of the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA).
Launching this summer, the WJA’s UK Chapter aims to support, mentor and provide networking and professional development opportunities for women working in the UK jewellery and watch industry.
Founded in the 1980s, the WJA was formed in the United States by Teri Lyn Judd, who had the idea that by networking, women could provide support to each other and recognise the female talent in the industry. Thirty years on, the WJA continues to provide support, education, and camaraderie for women in jewellery, and has 19 US Chapters and a growing number of international Chapters.
Now, with the support of the US association, Victoria McKay is leading a call out to women in the UK industry to register their interest in becoming a member of the UK group.
Under the direction of McKay, the WJA UK Chapter will launch with three Executives – Ruth Faulkner, editor of Retail Jeweller magazine, Anna Chapman, PR manager at Facets PR, and jewellery industry consultant Kathryn Bishop.
Speaking of the call to industry, Victoria McKay says: “We are seeking to establish initial interest from both women and men in the trade who would like to be members or otherwise support a UK Chapter of the WJA.
“My conversations with the inspiring women around me tell me there is absolutely enough brilliant people in our industry to make the Chapter a reality. We regard the WJA UK Chapter as largely collaborative; we would consult closely with would-be members to establish their objectives and needs from the association.”
Those wishing to register their interest in becoming a member can visit http://wjauk.co.uk to register, or they can email their full name, company name and role, and the reasons they would like to join the WJA to [email protected].
Once interest is established, further updates will be made via email from McKay and the executives.
