About The Authors
Cynthia Sliwa, AICI, CIP, The Image Counselor
Cynthia Sliwa approaches jewelry with the passion of a collector. A longtime aficionado of vintage costume jewelry, she left corporate law to study image consulting and to take classes at the Gemological Institute of America. She utilized her studies to create a line of fine jewelry for the plus-size market, Apprecia Fine Jewelry.
As The Image Counselor(TM), Cynthia is a certified professional image consultant who coaches clients on matters of personal and professional style. She provides image consulting workshops and services for jewelers and other professionals, their clients and employees. She especially enjoys working one-on-one with individuals to help them achieve their full potential. Cynthia also writes regular columns on jewelry, image and style for several publications. She was awarded the Rising Star Award by the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) in 2005.
Caroline Stanley, Red Jewel, Inc.
Caroline is a third-generation jeweler who developed her skills in her family's retail jewelry store in Arkansas, Stanley Jewelers Gemologists, now celebrating their 70th anniversary. After a decade in retail sales and management, she moved on to serve the industry in a variety of trade positions, focusing on marketing, communications and education, working with PGI, JA and the JVC. In 2002, Caroline opened her own firm, Red Jewel, Inc., providing industry-savvy marketing, communications and consulting to the jewelry industry.
With her varied background, Caroline knows the jewelry industry inside and out, and is considered a savvy marketer and an educator in the industry as well as a creative soul. Today she works with a variety of clients in the jewelry industry and consults internationally, assisting all her clients to achieve their diverse goals.