Author Vanessa Nornberg

Vanessa Nornberg got her start in accessories at the tender age of 11, by amassing the most notorious collection of chandelier earrings in the whole 5th grade. At age 18, her love of fashion drew her to New York City, where she received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from New York University in Romance Languages and European Studies. While living abroad in France, Vanessa worked in communications and business development. She returned to the United States and to her roots in the jewelry world, and in 2004, opened Metal Mafia, a wholesale body piercing and costume jewelry company. Now one of the top body jewelry suppliers in the US tattoo and piercing industry, Metal Mafia sells to 5000+ independent specialty shops and large retail chains in 23 different countries. Vanessa believes the company’ s incredible growth stems from its commitment to doing business in an ethically and morally correct manner. Metal Mafia was named to the Inc 500 list of America’ s fastest growing privately owned companies in 2009. Vanessa is often asked to speak to high school and college students from across the country about her experience as an entrepreneur and loves helping to spread to the word that everyone is capable of writing their own dream job description.