MEET OUR SPEAKERS

BRYAN BENEDICT

Bryan has worked at every level in the beer industry. In 2012, he started in retail as a buyer for a group of stores in Philadelphia, PA then moved to wholesale distribution managing a portfolio of craft brands in Rhode Island. In 2016, he became the Director of Sales at The Beer’d Brewing Company in CT overseeing their self distribution program. In 2021, he opened up Moniker Brewery in Providence’s West End.

HAYLEY PIRES

Hayley Pires is a multidisciplinary designer based out of Newport, Rhode Island. Utilizing her unique perspective and out-of-the-box thinking to deliver strategic brand insights and design has earned her a name in the field. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Packaging Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, she worked for global design studios working on well-known brands such as PepsiCo, CVS, P&G and Campari Group. Not only has she designed for big brands, she also worked with growing small businesses. This diversity has allowed her to develop skills for large scale projects, while still maintaining great passion for the smaller ones.

After spending 10 years in New York City, it was time to get back to her roots and make Newport home again. Her goal has been to connect with local businesses and immerse herself in growing the design community here in Rhode Island. She co-founded Rippl, a strategic design studio based here in RI. Rippl focuses on elevating brands through strategic insights and functional design both locally and abroad.

JACQUES BIDON

Hi, my name is Jacques Bidon. I am a commercial printer who left the world of cutthroat deadlines to work with artists and designers alike. Sharing my love of offset and Letterpress printing is a blessing. I believe in the power of printing to change just about anything. Do you have a book project or a poster you want to see happen? Bidon press is the shop for you. With three decades of a career in commercial printing to draw upon for your printing solutions. What makes us unique is that you can be part of the print process from start to finish if you choose to. We also offer 1 on 1 class where you can learn how to print your project on the offset and Letterpress. When I’m not working on someone else’s project in my spare time, I make my own art using traditional and nontraditional print mediums like letterpress, etching presses, and offset. I also mentored some of the kids from the youth program and some that aren’t from the youth program when they came to the print shop.

KEVIN DIAZ

A proud Providence native with a passion for pursuing multiple dreams at once. I’m Kevin and I believe you should never be limited to just one path, in my case, I went from fashion designer to video game designer to my current career as a graphic designer. 

A couple of my recent accomplishments include, collaborating with famous Providence artist, Jacque Bidon, for DESIGNxRI’s 10th anniversary. Leading into to my acceptance into DESIGNxRI’s community Design Challenge.

JAMIE BARTHOLOMAY

Jamie Bartholomay (they/them) is a Graphic Designer and Maker who graduated from RISD in 2011. For the past decade, they have worked as a print and web designer for MIT’s Joint Program for the Science and Policy of Global Change. Professionally, Jamie is especially skilled at transforming bewildering scientific data into easily digested graphics, creating a pathway for the public to consume and understand the findings that impact their lives. In 2018, they designed the United Nations’ Pathways to Paris reports winning them the 2019 MIT Infinite Mile Award.

Jamie is an avid maker, from needle felted creatures to embroidered patches and hand bound books. Jamie is also passionate about typography and letterpress: If they could illegalize the use of any one typeface it would be ‘Veneer’.