Alumni
Meet Recent Jewelry Design Graduate Doubara Eporwei
Jewelry Design Graduate Doubara Eporwei is one of FIDM's most recent success stories. Below, she shares her experience working as an Assistant Designer for 1928 Jewelry, a position she helped secure via FIDM's Career Center:
"My time at 1928 Jewelry was an eye-opening experience for me. I really enjoyed it because I got the opportunity to get a lot of hands-on experience while working there and saw what it takes to run and operate a jewelry mass manufacturing business. Coming into the jewelry industry with no prior experience in the field, except for freelancing, it was amazing to see concepts learned at school used directly on the job. I got to see that FIDM wasn't just teaching textbook knowledge, but actually teaching things I could use on the job or in my own company. I saw that even things I learned in the 1st quarter came in very handy while coming up with design ideas for clients at 1928.
During my time there as an assistant designer, I not only got to do things that were in my job description but my bosses gave me the opportunity to visit and experience different departments of the company. I engaged in designing collections for private clients and taking part in meetings with some of their private clients. I worked on the factory floor doing things like mass assembly of jewelry, enameling, stone setting, creating jewelry samples for both big and small clients and quality control. I learned how to put together costing sheets for clients, accurately prepare jobs for other departments in the production chain of a piece, research their vast collection of castings and materials for various collections, and put together a story board for a client. All of these experiences trained me to be a much better jewelry designer.
Everything I did during my time at 1928, I saw my learning experience at FIDM come into play and what I learned at 1928, I believe made me a better student at FIDM. I am grateful to my instructor John Ahr and Cynthia Harvey of the career center for helping me every step of the way in getting the job at 1928. Everything I learned at FIDM and 1928 has given me a unique edge as I study at GIA. Both experiences have set me up to be a better jewelry designer through fabrication and CAD. FIDM has made such a huge impact on my life and I am excited to see where the road takes me."
Categories: Jewelry Design Alumni
