Jewelry Making & Repair

The work of Emily Scott Surette JM '07 aims to be timeless: a ready-to-wear style that's functional while still elegant, found everywhere from the hands of local brides-to-be, to the inside of swag bags at the Oscars. Her dedication to the craft keeps Emily going, and her jewelry business thriving. "Working with your hands has a bearing on your self-esteem," Emily says. "Making a tangible product that you can hold and can say 'I made that' is huge. It does a lot for someone's self-confidence. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Merit-based scholarships at NBSS recognize excellence and provide a benchmark toward which future students strive. The Gladys Brooks Foundation Scholarship is one of the School's newest offerings, and NBSS is proud to announce Marei Dose JM '18 as the inaugural recipient.

"The more you work with your hands, I think the more respect you have for your hands. I think that people who don't work with their hands might not understand exactly how hands learn, but hands do learn." Watch this video of NBSS President Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez CF '99 describing how the hands and mind work together when honing your craft.

Ann Cahoon JM ' 02, Department Head of the Jewelry Making & Repair program, is a designer goldsmith whose work focuses on high carat gold and platinum fabrication. She founded Flying Marquis Studio in 2005, and now works alongside her metalworker husband, who owns Chris Ploof Designs. Their combined 10,000 sf shop is fully outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.

Ann Cahoon JM '02 has been working at one bench or another since she was 15 years old. "My interest was absolutely in jewelry," says Ann, now the Jewelry Making & Repair Department Head at North Bennet Street School, "I've always been fascinated by jewelry as objects."

"Mistakes are great!" says Jewelry Making & Repair Department Head Ann Cahoon JM '02. "You don't know the limits until you hit them. One of the things that I really love about an academic environment is that you can embrace the stuff that goes wrong." Watch this video of Ann describing this lesson learned by one of our students.