New Faces Around BRG


BRG Happenings | PUBLISHED 03.03.20 | Jennifer Ventresca
Put a face behind the name... | BRG

There are a lot of new faces gracing the halls of the various BRG locations lately. We love adding members to the BRG family and it seems like the last couple of months have provided us with a proverbial bumper crop of newbies. Each new hire comes to us with different talents and strengths that can only embolden our growth and success. If you happen to be at any of our locations and recognize one of these new faces, they would certainly appreciate meeting you.

BLACK ROCK GALLERIES (BRG) BRG Blog

NEW BUSINESS, ESTATES, & ACQUISITIONS:

We'll begin with the "bread-n-butter" of our business -- new business, estates and acquisitions. Without which, we would not have any merchandise to sell to our wonderful bidders and buyers. For the longest time, our estates and acquisitions operations was managed by one person, Rick Daley. As our business grew in our home base region as well as in Boston and Raleigh, it was apparent that the estates and acquisitions team needed to grow too. Enter: Helgi and Jessica.

Helgi Olgeirsson
BRG/CHES Regional Business Development Manager

BRG BlogSince 2015 Helgi Olgeirsson has been focused on the space of “re-commerce” giving new life to items otherwise discarded, and in turn attempting to reduce waste in our single use economy. It was the complexity of Things that got him interested in the field, taking a job for a local online auction house as a product and marketing photographer. From there you could say he caught the bug, within a year he was relocated to Boston and ran the North East region for the company focusing on inventory acquisition and assembling a team to tackle the complex world of re-commerce, especially item identification. He now serves as the Regional Manager / New Business Development for Clearing House Estate Sales / Black Rock Galleries for the Greater Boston area where we aim to bring intelligent design and creative workflows to every collection seeking a new home.

In between the piles of incredible unique finds, Helgi and his wife Brittany enjoy exploring the New England region, usually on some self propelled vehicle such as a bike or a kayak. Camera in hand Helgi still practices his craft of photography, although usually through the lens of a recently found 35mm film camera.

Jessica Sokol
Estates and Acquisitions Coordinator

BRG BlogJessica is thrilled to join the BRG team in Estates and Appraisals. Jessica has a background in the arts and entrepreneurship. She has a BA in Art History from The College of William & Mary and a MA in Art Business from Sotheby's Institute in London where she focused on young art collectors groups. Following grad school, Jessica worked in development for the Smithsonian and in the Admissions and Alumni Departments at Sotheby's Institute in NYC. After starting a family, Jessica left the city and opened a retail store in downtown Fairfield, called Saltwater. She sold the business two years later to her business partner and has since freelanced for other creative businesses, including CHES.

Originally from New Jersey, Jessica lives in Black Rock with her husband Jake, daughter Blanche (4), son Hobie (2), and their yellow lab and golden retriever. Jessica and her family can be found on the water sailing whenever the weather is right...or even when it isn't!

RESEARCH & CATALOGING:

Oh the things we will see! Our catalogers and inventory specialists are always busy. Research and cataloging can take a bit of time, especially for rare and .... ----- work tirelessly to create intriguing item entries while ensuring that the item details are accurately captured.

Melissa Inglis
Research & Cataloging, BRG-Raleigh

BRG BlogNorth Carolina native and BRG's newest member in the Raleigh location, Melissa Inglis, received her Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Upon graduating, Melissa worked as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines for 10 years and was based in Boston, Cincinnati and Chicago. She took a hiatus from flying in order to stay home and raise our three girls. This period gave her the opportunity to explore the world of buying vintage and antique pieces in need of a little TLC. Melissa that learned how to refinish and refurbish furniture which eventually set her on the path to join BRG.

After being away from North Carolina for years, Melissa and her husband, Tim, moved back in the late 1990s to be nearer to family and has been there since then. When she isn't working, Melissa loves to spend time with family, in the garden, and cooking. Melissa is also a sports enthusiast who especially loves Duke and UNC basketball and is an avid weightlifter. Together, Melissa and Tim have three wonderful daughters, now in their 20’s, a Rough Collie, and a new Rag-doll kitten.

Yishay Amiri
Cataloging & Warehouse Associate, BRG-Raleigh

BRG BlogA Pittsburgh, PA native, Yishay has called Chicago, New Jersey, Arizona, and Israel home. While in Israel, he served in the Israel Defense Forces as a Staff Sergeant. He went to school for behavioral sciences. His passion for cars was fueled by his experience in the classic car auction world (purportedly, there's a three-hour long auction featuring Yishay!!). At BRG, he can always be found in the office making people smile with his wit and humor.

On the side, Yishay is an avid collector of silver Judaica and vintage toys. When he's not working, Yishay is enjoying cars, traveling, and food.

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Perhaps, one of the most critical pieces to the overall success of our online platform is the value of the imagery we put forth. In large part, that imagery is thanks to the talent of our photography team. Well, maybe she's not a newbie, but we are thrilled to have this BRG alumnus back ....

Stacey Lopez
Photographer

BRG BlogBrooklyn, NY born and raised, Stacey had an interesting start to her business career when, at the age of 21, she started at Men's Health Magazine as an assistant. Working her way up through the ranks over her tenure there, she eventually became their advertising associate business manager. Upon moving to Connecticut in 2006, she started her own licensed home daycare business and purchased her first camera. Using her little charges as test subjects (much to the delight of the parents), Stacey honed her eye and camera skills. By 2010, she officially launched her own photography business, Simply Sweet Snapshots, where she continues to work on specialty projects such as "The Light of My Life" whose focus is creating awareness for the down syndrome community. In 2015, Stacey began supplementing her portraits business with product photography for auction houses. She first came to work for BRG in 2018, but took a short hiatus while doing some freelance photography. Stacey has returned to the BRG family in 2020.

When she's not snapping images through her lens, Stacey is enjoying the company of good friends and family, Mexican food, and soduko. She is also a "late blooming" competitive bodybuilder, after the fitness bug bit her a few years ago. Stacey may even pursue her certification in fitness in the future with a focus on working with people with disabilities and women her age.

BLACK ROCK INTERIORS (BRI) BRG Blog

Our luxury consignment showroom has always been the proverbial crown jewel of our Bridgeport location. But now, that jewel has more of a "woman's touch" with the keen eye and display talents of our newest Interiors employee .....

Kim Watkins
Showroom Sales Associate

BRG BlogKim graduated from Hartford College for Women, which is now part of the University of Hartford CT. She spent part of her career working in the Space Planning Interiors division for CIGNA Healthcare Home Office, as well as in the interior design field for both Accents Home Collection Southport, Connecticut and Dovecote in Westport, Connecticut. She now offers her business and decorative skills to Black Rock Interiors' consignment showroom.

Kim's spare time includes travel with her husband Tom, especially visiting their two grown children in New York City and Seattle. She also assists with the care planning for her parents (who are both in their 90’s)! With the time that's left over, you'll find Kim hunting for vintage and antique goods for her own personal collections, as well as her online business Rooster River Antiques.


CLEARING HOUSE ESTATE SALES BRG Blog

Of course, the BRG brand is not the only operating unit that is growing. Our Clearing House Estate Sales (CHES) brand is expanding its reach rapidly and has taken on a new full time coordinator.

BRG BlogMegan Caron
Customer Coordinator

Megan is an Ithaca College graduate and Greenwich High School alum. Megan was introduced through a friend to a Clearing House Auction Manager looking to sell his home in Connecticut and relocate to Florida. She helped clear his home top to bottom and he showed her how to list items online, take photos, write up descriptions, etc. He recommended that she do this as a full time job and in less than a year, she became part of the Clearing House family.

When Megan isn't working as Customer Coordinator for CHES, she helps manage the box office at the famous rock palace, the Capitol Theatre, in Port Chester, NY and teaches indoor cycling classes for the employees at the WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT.


There will be more "new faces" in the weeks and months ahead. We are thrilled to be witness to the tremendous success and growth of all the BRG brands. So, if you happen to see any of our newest "new faces," don't be shy -- say hi!


Keywords: Meet our newest, new hire, new employee, Black Rock Galleries, Black Rock Interiors, Clearing House Estate Sales, BRG, CHES, Helgi Olgeirsson, Jessica Sokol, Melissa Inglis, Yishay Amiri, Stacey Lopez, Kim Watkins, Megan Caron

New Faces Around BRG. Black Rock Galleries provides high end estate liquidation services through online estate auctions and a 50,000 sq ft designer showroom. estate liquidator, estate sale, online auction, antiques, fine art, liquidation, clean outs, auction, consignment, interior design, fine jewelry, collectibles, appraisals, estate appraisals, estate services, decor, furniture, furniture consignment, antique center, consignment shop. We offer appraisal services and specialize in fine art, jewelry, antiques and decorative arts. Sell with us. Black Rock Galleries is the tri-state's largest estate liquidator serving New England and the greater New York City area. We are the trusted source for expert appraisals, auction services, estate sales, and consignments. Black Rock Galleries is the east coast's largest and most trusted estate liquidator, with locations in Connecticut, greater Boston, MA and Raleigh, NC, Fairfield, Southport, Apex, TX. We are the best source for expert appraisals, auction services, estate sales and consignments. We have served thousands of families and estates with compassion, professionalism and expertise. BRG works with attorneys, executors, realtors and families to bring the greatest return on personal and estate property in the current market. Our unique combination of services make us the easy choice to get the job done in a timely and stress-free manner. We are with you from the initial consultation to the final clean out. Our house-built online auction software platform offers clients a dynamic approach to liquidating their personal property. This venue is most successful in bringing the best return with the least amount of disruption for our clients. See our services page for a complete description of this offering. New Faces Around BRG
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