A recent trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London completely blew my mind, when I experienced their massive jewelry collection, including over 3000 objects from ancient times to the present day. Highlights include a gold Celtic breastplate, jewelled pendants given by Elizabeth I to her courtiers, diamonds worn by Catherine the Great of Russia, jewelry by the art-nouveau designer, Réné Lalique, diamond tiaras by Cartier, and contemporary works by Wendy Ramshaw, Peter Chang, and Marjorie Schick.
Jewelry is centered in the collections of every major museum in the world, but it’s not the first thing you think of when you consider collecting contemporary art. However, for me at least, acquiring handmade wearable works of art is often more meaningful than larger works for my over-filled walls at home. Not just beautiful or decorative, jewelry offers us an opportunity for smart and subversive beauty, and a way to support artists doing genius work in our midst.
The Baltimore Jewelry Center is one main reason that Baltimore is home to world class jewelry artists and if you’re curious to learn more about how to participate, take classes, or purchase some of the best works of wearable art in town – look no further than Ornamenta, the BJC’s annual gala that includes dining, dancing, a silent auction, and a raffle. Or course, there is a jewelry-inspired thematic component to the evening, and it’s a really fun, get-dressed-up but not formal event. It supports a fantastic non-profit arts organization that serves community in a variety of ways.
Cara Ober, BmoreArt: I look forward to Ornamenta every February. It’s one of my favorite nonprofit gala events of the year, in part because it’s fun and a great excuse to get dressed up but also – because there is great jewelry in the onsite auction!!! The Baltimore Jewelry Center (BJC) is such a great organization. Can you talk a little about what the BJC is and does – for people who aren’t in the know?
Allison Gullick, BJC: The Baltimore Jewelry Center (BJC) is a non-profit community space and school that educates people in Baltimore and the broader DMV about metalsmithing and art jewelry. We teach classes and workshops for every skill level, including kids and teens. People can also rent time in our studio and access all of our tools and equipment. Metals and Jewelry work require a lot of large and specialized equipment and ventilation which is all quite expensive, making it a hard thing for independent makers to pursue.
By offering all these things in a community space, we make the field of metals and jewelry education more accessible. The community nature of our space is also a big part of the resource we offer. Students, makers, and teaching artists as well as resident artists and interns connect in our space, sharing resources and strengthening their practices alongside each other.
BmoreArt: Ornamenta is the annual BJC fundraiser hosted in February. What is this event and what does it accomplish for the BJC??
Ornamenta is our version of a gala. We call it our annual benefit party. It’s an evening of fun and fundraising that helps us support our core programs. We don’t just offer classes and workshops, we also offer scholarships and work-study positions, host an artist residency and a teaching fellowship, as well as a couple of youth workforce development programs. Not to mention our public programs and a full calendar of exhibitions.
Ornamenta helps support all of these programs. It’s a party where we can share everything the BJC’s working on and it’s also a space where we can introduce Baltimore’s art lovers and supporters to the world of contemporary jewelry through our silent auction.
What, in your opinion, makes this event so special?
I think the energy is really what makes the event so special. The evening is attended by a wonderful mix of community members and students, board members and donors, plus artists and general craft supporters. The vibe of Ornamenta is a bit fancy, but also very fun and casual (think cocktail party meets blockparty)! There’s amazing food from BlackSauce kitchen, a bar with signature beverages, and a great DJ with lots of dancing (our community of makers know how to let loose on the dance floor).
For the last few years we’ve added a theme to keep people on their toes and this year’s theme is Ruby! Many people love dressing to the theme and it’s always a treat to see the creative things folks come up with. But you can dress however you like, we don’t ascribe to strict dress codes (except closed-toe shoes in the studio!).
I can remember, before the pandemic, Ornamenta was hosted at The Centre on North Ave, within Impact Hub, which shares the building with and is adjacent to the BJC… but now it’s grown and is hosted each year at 2640, an events space in a former church in Charles Village. Either way, there is food, dancing, open bar, and a selection of handmade jewelry in an onsite auction. What is unique about the 2640 space??
We love Impact Hub, they have always been such an anchor for us. Hosting the event right next door to the studio was so helpful in allowing us to take guests into our space to show them who we are. That felt really necessary for the first four years. As the party grew, we were changing elements every few years, to keep it fresh and responsive.
Moving the party to 2640 Space allowed us to center the dancefloor in a way that feels authentic to our playful spirit. 2640 Space also has a lot of natural aesthetic elements, a built-in atmosphere and a subtle sense of drama; this is perfect for Ornamenta’s vibe and for highlighting the beautiful auction we put on every year. It means we can keep the decor minimal. It’s really important to us to be resourceful in our studio, to not use more materials than we need to and to reuse as much as possible. This applies to how we decorate for a party as well.
The BJC community has really expanded over the past dozen years. It was founded in 2013 and opened in 2014… can you talk a little bit about its origin story and how it has evolved??
The BJC grew out of the shuttering of MICA’s continuing studies Metals Program, which had been running for about 20 years. Naturally, people didn’t want to lose what they’d built together, so a group came together to form the BJC. From the start the BJC has focused on providing high quality, accessible jewelry and metalsmithing education, but over the last 12 years we’ve evolved to offer much more.
The classes and workshops we offer are priced at only 55% of their true cost so that more people can access what we teach (the remainder of the costs are covered by grants and donations and funds from Ornamenta!). We provide scholarship and work study positions to help alleviate barriers for entry. We develop and facilitate workforce development programs for teens and young adults with partners across the city.
We’re very well-known in the field of contemporary jewelry for our residency program and teaching fellowship. This means residents and fellows come to us from all over the country and the world. We have become a place that people pursuing BFAs and MFAs in jewelry and metals want as part of their evolving trajectory as well as a place where hundreds of people have fallen in love with jewelry and metalwork and made it a hallmark of their life.
Our instructors and studio managers teach and lead in a very intentional way: they share resources with each other constantly, their teaching methodologies overlap and compliment each other, and they lean on each other for support as well as refer to each other’s strengths. What this means is anyone teaching and leading in our space is being both constantly refined and increasingly resourced.
It’s incredible to watch this in practice, it’s a kind of craftsmanship and creativity of its own. This also means that anyone who spends a significant amount of time in our space and pays attention gets practice in this same way of working which they can take with them to where they go next. We are finding that our way of teaching and leading and creating in community is spreading to more places. That’s the growth and evolution we are most proud of and that we want to keep doing. We also host public programs, exhibitions, and have a small retail shop so there are plenty of ways for folks to plug in informally. We love Baltimore and want the city to be tapped into what we’re doing.
For people who want to get involved, you offer classes, workshops, exhibits, and events. When is your next round of classes and how can people sign up?
Our next session of classes starts in April, but there’s still spots available in our current winter classes and workshops like an upcoming Belt Buckles class and a Ring In A Day workshop. For folks who want to check us out, they should definitely follow us on social media, but we’re also active in Station North’s monthly artwalks.
Our studio is open 7 days a week and the public is welcome to come in to see our current exhibitions or retail space during any of our open hours. Also we frequently host exhibition openings and residency artist talks which are always free and open to the public. People can find more information about everything that’s happening in our studio by following our instagram or joining our newsletter which you can do on our website baltimorejewelrycenter.org
The BJC is also home to a national residency for jewelry artists. How do you work with resident artists in a variety of ways?
We’ve had artists from across the continental United States as well as Belgium, Canada, China, England, Germany, and India come to spend time in residency with us. Residents come with their own projects or creative problems to work through as well as their own processes, techniques, and insights which they share with our eager and curious community members.
There’s a great exchange of ideas and information that happens between the residents and the community. At the conclusion of their residency, artists give a talk and have a pop-up exhibition to display what they’ve made. When residents leave us, they go back to their homes as ambassadors for Baltimore and the BJC! They stay connected to our community through programs and exhibitions, and they frequently give back to the studio by donating work for the annual Ornamenta auction.
The theme for this year is RUBY – so I assume this means all things will be red and sparkly? What are you planning to wear this year and how are decorations going??
Yes, there will definitely be lots of red and lots of sparkle! The inspiration for this year’s theme is multifaceted with influences coming from medieval woodblock printing, William Morris patterns, and early playing card motifs. Elliot Keeley does our graphic design and the work he puts into the invitation really is layered and that carries over into our overall approach to the theme and decorations. I think it’s safe to say we’re leaning into a more lush side of red, think rubies and garnets. But honestly we want people to have a great evening where they can learn a little more about jewelry while supporting the work of the BJC. So whatever people feel comfortable in is what they should wear!
Right now I’m torn between two choices, a black strappy dress with gold accents that I’d add pops of red into through my styling or a red long-sleeved jumpsuit that has pockets (win) and would require a new pair of shoes!!!
Of the jewelry up for auction this year at Ornamenta, which pieces are your favorite and why?
It’s hard to pick a favorite. There are so many amazing pieces!
There’s a beautiful brooch by Zach Mellman Carsey, a former resident, that’s covered in stones! It’s gorgeous and Zach’s work explores a theme that a lot of us are thinking about in the art world and society more generally, the increasingly unavoidable integration of technology into everything we do. Zach specifically explores the way technology is embedded into wearable jewelry and he uses computer-aided design and digital fabrication to further concepts that we can all relate to like identity, place, and mourning.
There’s a great necklace by Leslie Shershow, I know she’s one of your favorites, Cara! Her work often explores themes of memory, nostalgia, and longing. The piece she has in the auction is very whimsical and joyful, something that would definitely lift your spirits every time you wear it.
There are also three necklaces made by Manon van Kouswijk a Dutch artist and contemporary jeweller who lives and works in Australia. Manon is hugely respected in the art jewelry world and these pieces are very approachable for anyone interested in starting their own collection. The pieces are colorful and visually straightforward, but were created through the transformation of a mundane industrial product into unique “beaded” jewelry.
I think that’s really the thing that strikes me about the work in the auction and the jewelry world in general, the pieces are all beautiful and have inherent value as unique works of craft, but each piece also has a much deeper meaning that is known to the artist, and sometimes the collector or wearer, but isn’t instantly available to the general observer of the piece. I really love that about jewelry, the many layers it has underneath the surface.
To bid on the auction, do you have to be present in person or can you bid online? When does the bidding close??
You do not have to be at the party to participate in the auction! You can bid online using the BetterWorld platform, it’s really easy to use, and you can do it right from your phone. I am definitely anticipating some bidding wars this year. The auction launches Monday, January 26th at 5:00 PM EST and bidding ends at 10:30 PM EST on February 7th! Artists from all over the country are participating and even if you don’t consider yourself a jewelry person, there are lots of great options to bid on like a collection of fine wines, experiences for music lovers, and even some great travel opportunities!
What else should people know about the BJC and Ornamenta??
The BJC and Ornamenta are a win win! Ornamenta is an excellent party, and who doesn’t like to party for a good cause. All the money raised goes towards supporting a community organization, right here in Baltimore, that is focused on providing access and education to anyone that’s interested in metalsmithing and jewelry. It’s fun you can feel good about!
MORE INFO / Tickets: Link Here.
Join the Baltimore Jewelry Center on Saturday, February 7th, 2026 for Ornamenta, our annual fundraising event. Every year, Ornamenta provides the BJC with the opportunity to raise much-needed funds while sharing our love of metalsmithing and art jewelry with the broader Baltimore and DMV communities. By attending Ornamenta, bidding in our auction, buying raffle tickets, or by contributing to our fund-a-need, you are directly supporting a range of programs including our artist residency, workforce development, scholarships, and kids and teens programs.
