BEFORE WE ANNOUNCE the winners of the 2022 America’s Coolest Stores on Aug. 30, we’d like to introduce and thank our exceptional panel of judges, who represent the best of the best in marketing, branding, store design, jewelry display, manufacturing and retail operations.
Meet the judges:
Jennifer Acevedo is senior director, Insights + Brand Marketing, for Nelson Worldwide. Prior to joining Nelson, Jennifer served as the editor-in-chief/associate publisher of Visual Merchandising + Store Design (VMSD) magazine, a media brand serving 40,000-plus professionals in the design, architecture and visual merchandising space. jennifer@nelsonworldwide.com
Marc Adwar, CEO of Brooklyn Jewelers, has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and designing for top retailers. Brooklyn Jewelers is a technology-driven, fine jewelry manufacturing collaborative. marc@brooklynjewelers.com
Mitchell Clark is the executive vice president of BC Clark Jewelers, a fourth-generation family business with three retail stores in Oklahoma City. BC Clark is the 2020 winner and the 2008 runner-up of INSTORE’s America’s Coolest Stores contest in the Big Cool division. Mitchell also currently serves on the Board of Directors as the Membership Committee Chair of the American Gem Society. mitchell@bcclark.com
Amanda Eddy, Austin chapter president for the Women’s Jewelry Association, is a jewelry designer and 2021 winner of the Small Cool Division of the America’s Coolest Stores Contest for her flagship store, Amanda Deer in Austin, TX. amanda@amandadeer.com
Lyn M. Falk is owner/president of Retailworks, Inc., an award-winning design, branding, and display firm, where she and her team have been creating engaging and memorable customer experiences for retailers across the country for over 25 years. Ms. Falk is an international speaker, registered interior designer, and consumer behavior specialist. lfalk@retailworksinc.com
Bruce Freshley has helped dozens of Americas’ finest independent jewelers grow their businesses for more than 29 years. After building his own family’s jewelry store into a multi-million operation and then selling the firm, he understands retailers’ unique challenges. He spends five months of the year visiting jewelers, working in their operations as a jewelry marketing expert. Freshley Digital’s most recent growth is predominantly in cutting edge digital and web marketing, adapting to the needs of the jewelers they serve. bruce@freshleymedia.com
Gabrielle Grazi is vice-president of retail strategy and partnerships for the Natural Diamond Council, where she leads a program designed for jewelry retailers across North America who share the mission in amplifying consumer desirability for the modern diamond dream. gabrielle@naturaldiamonds.com
Jackie Johnson joined Crabtree Consulting as vice president, bringing along a wealth of experience on the retail side of the jewelry industry. She spent 11-plus years at one of the largest West Coast independent jewelry retailers, working with both privateand elite jewelry designers such as Tacori, Verragio, Simon G, Gabriel & Co, Henri Daussi, Nelson Jewelry, Divine, and A Jaffe, just to name a few. Previously she specialized as a special-order coordinator in custom bridal. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) focused in History from California State University-Fullerton. jackie@crabtreeadvisory.com
Larry Johnson heads his own display consulting firm specializing in helping independent jewelers improve their sales by implementing better visual merchandising techniques. He is the author of The Complete Guide To Effective Jewelry Display. larryjohnsonconsulting.com
Pam Levine is president of Levine Luxury Branding, a boutique agency that works with brands to deliver memorable customer experiences. From strategy through design, visual merchandising, and marketing, she works with clients to create strong sensory and emotional connections with customers that nurture lasting and profitable relationships. levineluxurybranding.com
Shane O’Neill, vice-president of Fruchtman Marketing, aims to set himself apart from other social and digital marketing experts by providing solid strategy and insight on proper methods to successfully build an online presence. shane@fruchtman.com
Joanne Slawitsky, an independent contractor, has been in the jewelry industry for 30 years. As president of a major jewelry equipment company, she handled day-to-day operations for a decade. In the years that followed, she worked with companies that remodeled jewelry stores. jslawitsky@gmail.com