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Vanessa Nornberg

President Metal Mafia

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.

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