AWARDS
2008
Best in Show,
Charlotte Fine Art Show
Emerging Artist Award, Cherry Creek Arts Festival
Collectors Choice Award, Florida Craftsmen
Award of Merit, Florida Craftsmen
Inspirational Woman of Brookline Award, Brookline Arts Center, MA
2009
Best in Show, Scottsdale Arts Festival
Best in Show, Uptown Arts Festival
Best in Jewelry, River Arts Festival, Memphis, TN
3rd Place, Bayou City Arts Festival, Houston, TX
Collectors Choice, Craft Art,
ST. Petersburg, FL
Award of Excellence, Craft Art,
ST. Petersburg, FL
2010
Best in Jewelry, Art City Austin
Merit Award, Cherry Creek Arts Festival
Best in Show, Brookside Art Annual
Tiffany and Company Award of Excellence, Bellevue Art Festival, Bellevue, WA
2011
Merit Award, Columbus Arts Festival, OH
Best in Show, Brookside Art annual, MO
Award of Excellence, Ann Arbor Original Arts Festival, MI
2012
Collectors Choice Award, Gasparilla Arts Festival, Tampa, FL
Award of Excellence, Ann Arbor Original Arts Festival, MI
Best in Show, Visual Arts Center Craft and Design Show, Richmond, VA
Best in Jewelry, Brookside Art Annual, MO
First Place, St. Louis Arts Fair, MO
2013
Award of Merit, Gasparilla Arts Festival, Tampa, FL
Innovative Material/Process, Visual Arts Center Craft and Design Show, VA
2016
Merit Award, Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
2017
Invitational Award, Lakefront Art Festival, Milwaukee, WI
First Place, St. Louis Art Fair,
St. Louis, MO
Invitational Award, Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
2020
Patrons Award, Images Art Festival, Smyrna Beach FL
Award of Merit, Gasparilla Arts festival, Tampa, FL
Patrons Award, Gasparilla Arts festival, Tampa, FL
Melle Finelli
CV
Experience
2004 to present
MELLE FINELLI JEWELRY
Design and fabrication of sculptural jewelry for special exhibitions, retail galleries and private collectors. These one of a kind pieces have been shown at craft shows nationwide since 2004. All work is conceived and executed in the studio by exploring and pushing the material’s boundaries. Endless curiosity and inspiration in my process is the most important part of my work. My current body of work is exploration of growth, space and movement.
2018 to 2023
MJ JEWELRY LAB
An experimental jewelry collaboration created with San Francisco artist Sarah Jane Hassler. The work is made spontaneously, with little communication between us. We mail a box of unknown parts to one another, and play with new materials. This collection started as a practice to loosen up in our own studios and in our personal work. We started showing this collection nationwide in 2019.
2016 to 2019
MELLE FINELLI STUDIO
A jewelry studio and gallery, with an exhibition space for US and International artists to explore and show works. The Gallery was jewelry focused, but also housed sculptural objects, allowing art and craft to coexist. The space also featured a rotating collection of artists from around the globe. The gallery closed in 2019.
Exhibitions
2010 BELLEVUE MUSEUM OF ART, Jewelry exhibition
2011-2019 SOFA, Chicago IL
2011-20 ATLANTA Contemporary Jewelry Show
2011 earRINGS, Shaw Jewelry, NE Harbor, ME
2011-16 PHYSICAL ELEMENT, Trunk show Portland, OR
2012 FLORIDA CRAFTSMEN, Jewelry exhibition St. Petersburg, FL
2013 CRAFT FORMS, Wayne Arts Center, Wayne, PA
2013-2017, 2018, 2020 PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM CONTEMPORARY CRAFT
2016 Solo Show, Pistachio’s Chicago, IL
2017 Solo Show, Gravers Lane, Philadelphia, PA
2018-2020 New Orleans Jazz Fest, Contemporary Crafts
2019-2020 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC
2020 All 2020 exhibitions postponed due to Covid-19
2021 Adorn: A Jewelry Invitational, Arts on Douglas, Florida
2021 Form + Function, Pistachios, Chicago, IL
2024 Kohler Arts Center, ARTspace, Sheboygan, WI
Featured Artist, One & Only
Curatorial
Jewelry exhibitions curated by Melissa Finelli
at Melle Finelli Studio (Boston, 2016- 2018)
Dec 2016 - Feb 2017
PAST, LOSS, FUTURE
Christine Jalio, solo show
May 2017 - June 2017
TECHNO COLOR
Featured artists from around the world working in 3D print, including Maria Eife, Birgit Laken, Lynne Maclachlan, Nina Gregg and Nitz & Schieck.
Sept 2017 - Oct 2017
WOOD YOU?
Featuring contemporary art jewelry by artists from around the world who have chosen wood as their primary material. Featuring work by Gabrielle Desmarias, Laura Jaklitsch, Luz Arias, Tara Locklear, and Tova Lund
Dec 2017 - Jan 2018
SAY IT WITH FLOWERS
Aurélie Guillaume, solo show
May 2018
AMARETTE GREGOR, solo show
Sept 2025
Sparkle and Shine Market
Education
2003 to 2004
SCHOOL of the MUSEUM of FINE ARTS, Boston, MA
Exploratory year in sculpture
1994 to 1996
NORTH BENNETT STREET SCHOOL, Boston, MA
Jewelry making and repair
PUBLICATIONS
2009 500 Plastic Jewelry Designs
2009 InStyle Magazine, August issue
2011 Hot Connections Jewelry (instructional)
2013 500 Art Necklaces
2018 Spirit Magazine, November/December 2018
2019 METALSMITH MAGAZINE- Vol. 39/ NO.4
2020 VOGUE CHINA, May and June issues
