Jewelry Student and Instructor Take Home Prestigious Technology Award at International Conference
Jack Boglioli has always had a penchant for the creative. As a kid he used to experiment with different mediums such as painting and sculpture. Then at 15 he discovered jewelry making and fell in love.
Soon, Jack began making and selling his own jewelry and eventually enrolled in the CNM Fine Arts program as a way to hone his skills.
“Eventually, I figured out the thing I’m naturally best at and can work the hardest at is being a jewelry designer,” Jack says. “I saw that CNM was offering a new class in jewelry making, so I ended up being the first student in the first class, which was awesome.”
Jack started taking classes at CNM in 2015 and graduated with his associate degree in Fine Arts and a certificate in Bench Jewelry two years later. During his time at CNM, Jack was also a work-study with the Fine Arts department, and even taught his own classes at CNM’s FUSE Makerspace, a community workshop that provides CNM students and local community members with access to state-of-the-art tools, technology, micro-manufacturing opportunities and other valuable resources.
Before starting at CNM, Jack says he never realized just how beneficial a formal Fine Arts education could be.
“It helped me refine the skills that I was already working on, and it answered a lot of questions that I had about traditional fabrication methods, like silversmithing, because I didn’t have any formal training,” Jack says. “I also got a lot of drawing experience, which really helped me to be able to draw designs that I can then turn into real pieces of jewelry.”
CNM was also where Jack met his current mentor, Fine Arts instructor Harley McDaniel. They even co-authored an award-winning research paper together titled, “Automated Vinyl and Laser Applications for the Jeweler,” which focuses on the applications of laser and vinyl cutters for aspiring jewelers and jewelry instructors at makerspaces like FUSE.
“Before I came to CNM, I never had the opportunity to have a mentor. And then I met Harley, who is so unconditionally helpful, and so that was really cool,” Jack says.
Jack and Harley presented their paper at the 2019 Santa Fe Symposium, an annual conference that is highly regarded as one of the most prestigious jewelry manufacturing conferences in the world and draws hundreds of jewelry industry professionals to New Mexico each year.
The paper won the Santa Fe Symposium’s award for Innovation in Technology, but because of the pandemic, they didn’t receive the award until last month. Even so, Jack says it was an honor just to be able to present at the conference.
Looking ahead, Jack says he would love to write another research paper with Harley, but for now, he’s mainly focused on expanding the capacity of his jewelry business. He currently sells his jewelry on his website and has a display at Amapola Gallery in Old Town.
“A lot of people will tell you that it’s not possible to make your living as a creative entrepreneur, but it is – because there are people who do it,” Jack says. “The key is to not stop, because it takes a while. But if you can live without a massive amount of creature comforts for a little while, it can be extremely satisfying when you’re able to accomplish your goals.”