Sophia Forero is a

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

designer. She creates jewelry with colors and textures inspired by her study of international cultures, including

Tuareg culture The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit the S ...

and

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome, decline of western Rome and ...

.Staff. Style Chicago
Our Favorites: Sophia Forero Design
Accessed November 16, 2012

Biography

Educated at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

for her undergraduate degree and then at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

for her Master's, Sophia Forero lived in Eastern Europe working for the US

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

as a teacher. She first became interested in designing jewelry while writing her masters thesis on indigenous cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa. While in the Peace Corps in Hungary, she visited bead factories and gathered materials from all over Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Balkans. In 2002, Sophia won

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, ...

Distinction in Design award, coming in first place over hundreds of designers. In 2004, Fashion Group International selected Sophia Forero Jewels as its 2004 recipient of the Style Makers & Rule Breakers award. The award "honors Sophia Forero as a trendsetter in the Accessories category...(and) identifies Sophia Forero as an innovator, a creator, a visionary and a formidable talent in the fashion and design industries."Press Release Fashion Group International May 19, 200
Fashion Group International Honors Sophia Forero Jewels
Accessed November 16, 2012 In 2013, Sophia completed th
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program
an initiative to help businesses launch the next stage of growth. To date, SFD is set to introduce an augmented series to the mosaic collection with diamond and sapphire. Using the talents of sculptor Mauricio Forero to create new designs, the couple will unveil the Caviar collection in 2014. Sophia lives and works in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

with her husband and four children.

References

External links

Official website of Sophia Forero Designs
Forero Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women jewellers {{fashion-bio-stub