What’s in a name? Join a community of teens on Saturday, April 4th to explore the connections between jewelry, culture, and identity through our “Teen Studio - Making the Nameplate”!✨
In conversation with cultural anthropologists Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Attyah Flower, co-authors of “The Nameplate” @documentingthenameplate , you will dive into the cultural significance of nameplate jewelry and hear firsthand about the process of bringing a book to life. 🫧
All participants will also receive a custom nameplate necklace with a name or word of their choice, handmade in Brooklyn, NY. You’ll then have the chance to get your portrait taken with your new nameplate and to share and document your testimony around what your nameplate means to you. 📸
Free, though advance registration is required. Space is limited. Registration closes Friday, March 20. Museum admission is free for teens as part of this program.
Link in bio to learn more and register!
Our first Nameplate Experience was everything we hoped for 🥲
Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who chose to spend their Saturday morning with us.
Thank you @1514loft for providing the perfect place.
Thank you @landscapebiography for creating this video and @solaeclipse for taking portraits of our beautiful guests (coming soon!)
And thank you to our (literal) sisters @prdiva09 and @rosalind__flower for always being down for a little impromptu production credit!
Shout out @genggrizzly for the score: “My Ace,” courtesy of KING VISION ULTRA, 2025.
We’re already looking forward to gathering again. Where should we bring this in 2026? 💭✨
On December 6, we’re bringing you something near & dear to our hearts for our last public program of the year at @1514loft
✨Our first-ever Nameplate Experience✨
The experience includes:
• The option to receive a custom handcrafted nameplate necklace
• An immersive “tour” of ‘The Nameplate’ book
• Group discussion + memory exchange
• A peek behind the scenes at the labor of love that is publishing a book
At past speaking engagements, we’ve gotten so many questions about what it was like to put this book together and what we’d tell others who want to publish their own work.
At this event, we’ll share some of the highs (and lows) of our journey, and answer any questions we can to help demystify the process.
There are several ticketing options, including:
•A signed book + beverage only
• A signed book + nameplate + beverage
• A bundle ticket option for you + a guest
• Admission to the talk + beverage only (with a chance to purchase a signed book and order a nameplate at the event)
Come through if you’ve ever loved a nameplate, dreamed of making your own, or wondered what it really takes to bring a book into the world.
🎟️ Tix via the link in our bio. Spots are limited.
(Images in order: Ivana Mena photographed by Francis Montoya, @denasimmons , @bribundles photographed by christelledecastro, photo by @isabelflower , @em.ill.e photographed by @destinymata , @siii_siii photographed by @_gogito ; flyer painting by @em.ill.e )
Clean air should be a right, not a privilege! I’m partnering w. @positivedeviancenyc on events that will minimize airborne pathogens for all attendees, including the medically high risk community (who are not considered or accommodated otherwise by current public health policies). Sun 3/15: Author Talk + Book Fair at @bronxlandia w. me, @champagnepoet@documentingthenameplate Sun 4/12: I’m spinning w. @djtaranyc at @gabriela90.nyc Link in bio for tickets! Masks required + Far UVC + HEPA filters for mitigation. Cinematography by @fredroespi filmed at @salonniere_coffeebar #bobbito #cleanair #covidsafe #books #author
🗯️What question has shaped your work the longest, and how do you keep answering it in new ways?
That’s the provocation guiding our featured authors at Positive Deviance NYC’s first Author Talk + Vendor Fair.
Readings + conversation on the art of storytelling with Bobbito García (@koolboblove ), Roya Marsh (@champagnepoet ), and Isabel Flower + Marcel Rosa-Salas of @documentingthenameplate .
Sunday, March 15 • 3–7pm
910 Hunts Point Ave, The Bronx
👆🏾 RSVP in bio 👆🏾
What’s your anniversary? 💋 two-tone “Loves” with mixed etching and diamond cuts. Acrylic date pendant attached with two bales. 🗓️💭🌹🥂🎁
#documentingthenameplate
1 of 1 🌹💎 rose quartz NaNa name ring commissioned by @nawledgee , founder of @nastalgiasjewelrybox , who we had the great pleasure of meeting at @madmuseum last fall.
Thank you to everyone who has kept sharing their stories and pictures with us. This celebration is never over! We will be continuing to share here, too 🔜
Thank you @ambersmodernlife for bringing us into BKLYN DESIGNS last Saturday @bklynlibrary ’s Library for Arts & Culture!
This is Amber’s pink acrylic-back Hello Kitty nameplate with incredible hand etching, captured by @bashir.photo 📸
Follow Amber to stay in the know about forthcoming events in her series with BKPL ⭐️
#documentingthenameplate
Nameplates come in many shapes, styles, and sizes—from simple scripted pendants to bejeweled rings, belts, and bracelets wrought in gold, silver, and acrylic.
Each piece embellished, etched, and accentuated, nameplates are coveted and precious objects—but what if they are something more?
On January 31, the creators of The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture, and Identity (Penguin Random House, 2023) Marcel Rosa-Salas and Isabel Attyah Flower, will join culture journalist Amber Lauren to share a glimpse into their years of research, starting right here in Downtown Brooklyn. Together they will explore how nameplates can be heirlooms that preserve and pass on stories about family lineage, history, and heritage.
RSVP Here: /4aSxueZ
On Saturday January 31, we’re partnering with dream collaborators @ambersmodernlife and @bklynlibrary for “BKLYN Designs: Passing Down Fashion.”
In this conversation with journalist, multi-hyphenate, and content creator Amber Lauren, we’ll talk about how nameplates can be heirlooms that preserve and pass on stories about family lineage, history, and heritage 🔗✨
Library for Arts & Culture
10 Lafayette Avenue, Second Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11217
6-7:30PM
Register for free at the link in our bio!
📷 by @marcelrosasalas
Our 2025 goal was to spend more time connecting, sharing, and learning about nameplates in real life. Our favorite part of this work is the ongoing process of exchange.
Here’s where nameplates took us this year!
Slide 2: @brooklynmuseum ’s Art History Happy Hour on the occasion of the exhibition “Solid Gold,” thank you @cch1qu1taa & @queerhshoulders
Slide 3: @risd_jewelrymetalsmithing ’s Artist Lecture Series, thank you @timothyveskemcmahon
Slide 4: @utsdct to speak to @blacvoice & @keilazari ’s Capstone and Typography students
Slide 5: three nameplate-making workshops with @adanne.co
Slide 6: @madmuseum , thank you @niravanasantoskuilan
Slide 7: @brooklynhistory with @dominiquejl , on the occasion of NYC Jewelry Week
Slide 8: Our first Nameplate Experience, hosted by 1514loft and captured on video by @landscapebiography
To everyone who has supported our work and book, attended an event, or got in touch, thank you so much ❤️🔑 We hope 2026 will bring many more of these moment & we wish every one of you a beautiful start to the year.
