2019 PANELISTS/INSTRUCTORS
PANELISTS
Gwen Beloti
Gwen Beloti, a Brooklyn, New York born and based womenswear and accessory designer believes in providing her customer with options, some that she didn’t always have.
Before launching her collection, finding clothing that fit well an accommodated her own body concerns was sometimes a challenge. Gwen understands the importance of celebrating what makes women not just look good, but feel good in their clothing.
The Gwen Beloti Collection launched in 2008, which includes feminine silhouettes that are versatile and prioritize fit. The brand carries standard sizes 4 up to 16/18, representative of every size the designer, Gwen Beloti, herself has worn.
Gwen used her personal experience as a consumer-turned-designer to curate a line of apparel that makes room for the everyday style and fit conscious woman. Her creativity and passion to serve and celebrate women through fashion is poured into every piece.
Follow @gwenbeloti on Instagram.
Viva Hamilton is a Tech Founder and Chief Experience Officer of an emerging multiethnic home goods marketplace, HAVENOUS (pronounced haven-us). An online marketplace would become the epicenter for cultural and creative home decor crafted by people of color. Her experience working in New York City’s fashion district matched with a growing opportunity at Datadog tech startup, eventually, lead Viva towards her devotion to solving the diversity issues within the interior market and startup community. As a mom of a jubilant little girl being an example of living in her purpose is imperative. Viva believes your home is a part of your unique story and it should say everything about you.
Follow @thehavenous on Instagram.
Viva Hamilton
Lisa Conrad is visual artist, art director, and art educator living and working in Newark, NJ. Conrad received her MA in Art Education at Kean University. As a practicing artist, she has created a multifaceted body of work including ceramics, works on handmade paper, artist books, sculptures and prints. She is the founding executive director of the Newark Print Shop, a printmaking facility founded in 2012 to incubate artistic expression through accessibility and educational opportunity, while simultaneously creating workspace for shop members and artists in the community.
Lisa Conrad
INSTRUCTORS
Corin Wright is an On-Set Tailor, Wardrobe Specialist , Entrepreneur and a Fashion pundit. With twenty years in the fashion industry, she is a Style Enthusiast that brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to both her clients and budding fashion professionals. She has worked with a number of notable celebrities like Mariah Carey, Kendrick Lamar, Demi Lovato, Mary J. Blige, and Ciara to name a few. Additionally, she opened up her own boutique, Style Haven and created a signature line of candles. She is a true example of one who has turned her passions into a career.
Corin Wright
Bridgett Artise of Born Again Vintage is a sustainable fashion guru who is so multi-talented, its mind-boggling. Just like her clothes, this woman reinvents, reuses and recycles her skills in new and beautiful ways as designer of Born Again Vintage, professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, event planner, sustainability mentor, fashion collaborator, Youtube teacher, titled Vintage Expert by the New York Times, published author of “Born Again Vintage: 25 ways to deconstruct, reinvent and recycle your wardrobe” and most importantly, mother of two beautiful children.
Bridgett Artise
Nkrumah Jennings founded his jewelry business on the streets of Puerto Rico. For 18 years since then, he has sold his “wearable art” internationally, to celebrity clients, and to a variety of stylish people across the nation.
Nkrumah Jennings
A.V. Perkins
As a native New Yorker A.V. has always loved the art scene of her hometown and that love led her to a 10-year career in the film industry as a set decorator. After experiencing the sudden death of her father, she channeled all of the crafty lessons he taught her into creating AvDoesWhat.com. No better way to keep his memory alive than developing an entire site dedicated to what they did best, build stuff. “A.V. Does What!?” began as a traditional Do-It-Yourself blog but quickly grew to into a lifestyle platform including upcycled furniture, repurposed crafts, home/garden hacks and recipes.
Her goal is to help thrifty millennials realize that life is better when you Do-It-Yourself! With appearances in HGTV, Huffington Post and BuzzFeed, A.V. is determined to change the face of DIY.
She is also the co-creator of University of Dope, an exciting thought-provoking card game that inspires interesting discussions about Hip Hop culture. The first of its kind.
Nadyah is a professional henna artist since 2014. Not only does she do henna body art for her private clientele, she also teach henna workshops and does festivals and fairs.
Nadyah Beasley
Khadijah Ford
Khadijah Ford, owner of Sugarluxe by Babycakes, is a self-taught professional baker specializing in custom designed sugar cookies. In 2009, Khadijah started baking cupcakes as gifts for her friends and family. Soon after, this hobby developed into a full fledged business. In 2015, Khadijah left her full time job in Medical Education and devoted herself fully to baking. After 3 years of providing custom cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and cookies, she rebranded her company this year. She now operates as a luxe cookie company. Sugarluxe by Babycakes creates sugar magic in the form of specialty cookies designed with the customer's vision in mind. Khadijah’s background in fine arts and fashion design adds a unique perspective to her decorating style. When you have a Sugarluxe cookie, everyone knows it. They’re just special.
Melissa Quaal is a business owner, sewing instructor, and creator of The Espadrilles Kit. Her work has been featured in BUST and Mollie Makes magazines. In addition to teaching across the country and making her own shoes, she also makes her own clothes. For the last five years she has avoided buying any new clothes in an effort to counter the waste and conformity of fast fashion with the radically simple idea of a mindful wardrobe. The project has brought attention to the ecological damage and human cost of the fashion industry since 2015. She sells her complete DIY kits for making espadrilles on Etsy and teaches sewing extensively. Visit her website at A HAPPY STITCH and follow on IG @ahappystitch.
Melissa Quaal
Paula Alford, M.B.A.,is the creator/ owner of Candyflavas.com, a soy and natural products manufacturing company that produces scented Soy Candles, Sugar Face and Body Scrubs, Body Love Butters and Body Oils. As an entrepreneur for 10 years, she’s been afforded the opportunity to create products for BET Awards, BET Honors, celebrities, and notable non-profits. She now coaches other start ups on marketing their brands and building healthy foundations to spring forward profitable companies, as she continues her own trek towards greatness with her companies.
Paula Alford
Rosa, a native of Brooklyn, NY. Is a multi-talented mother, DIY carpentry expert, and HGTV digital host. Rosa’s journey into the DIY world is one that was inspired by her desire to have furniture pieces that were cost effective, multi-purpose, durable and of course, stylish. Rosa teaches DIY classes for the building novice throughout the country. Boasting that she provides an environment that is fun and promotes self-sufficiency and confidence in the do-it-yourself home improvement world, her goal is, as she likes to say, to help you get from DIY fail to #Diyfly.
Follow @theprojectchick_
Rosa Armstrong
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Chef Nichole A. Mooney is the Executive Director and Founder of the non-profit organization Black Girls Cook. Black Girls Cook teaches adolescent inner-city girls of color the true meaning of farm to table by operating hands-on cooking classes and growing edible gardens.
Before starting a career as a social entrepreneur, Chef Nichole worked as a personal and private chef for clients in NY, NJ, Baltimore and DC. She has held various positions within the hospitality industry ranging from a hotel catering sales manager to a restaurant operations manager and a casino cocktail server. Nichole currently resides in Baltimore City with her one year daughter Madison and Pomeranian Nyla.
Nichole Mooney