Marlyn Schiff of Havertown is being honored by the New York-based Accessories Council as an Accessories Industry Hero at the 2021 ACE Awards, writes Elizabeth Wellington for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Haverford-based jewelry designer is one of 13 honorees.

Schiff has donated more than 50,000 surgical masks to hospitals and jewelry to essential workers through her Fill a Box, Send a Smile program.

“Never did I think we would win. We learned so much from this experience. It wasn’t easy, but we rallied. Our customers rallied and we are the better for it now.”

Schiff had opened a 3,800 square-foot loft boutique in Haverford four months before the March 2020 shut down.  

Then the pandemic hit, affecting her 19 employees and the millions in annual sales from her jewelry.

“In the beginning, I didn’t know if I was going to have a company,” Schiff said.

She was able to adapt while helping others.  Her company made thousands of cloth masks that were sold in her specialty stores. With that money, she bought 50,000 surgical masks for hospitals and nursing homes.

She also worked with customers on a promotion to send boxes of jewelry to essential workers and charities.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about Marlyn Schiff.

Marlyn Schiff talks about her line of jewelry in this 2016 video.