In honor of Carolee’s 40th anniversary, the high-fashion jewelry house has sponsored a competition exclusively for FIT Jewelry Design students. The on-going, 20-week competition that began in September, 2011 is nearing completion.  Tomorrow, 12 semi-finalists will be chosen.

“I’m always amazed how my students come through, even the shyest,” says Leila Tai Shenkin, professor of Jewelry Design in charge of the contest.”

The competition will culminate with five winners being named, one in each of four categories — pearl, metal, social occasion and fashion. The fifth winner will be a People’s Choice Award, selected through on-line voting.  Each winner will receive $1,000. The designs will be manufactured by Carolee and sold at Carolee counters around the world. They will also be displayed in windows at Bloomingdale’s in September.

This marks the first competition Carolee has had with FIT. “It’s an exciting competition by a company that has a long associations with FIT Jewelry Department,” says Chair Michael Coan.

The competition’s stages align with Professor Shenkin’s way of teaching: “I encourage students to imagine their design based on a theme. They then demonstrate ways to manufacture such a piece, making necessary changes. The students were well prepared for Carolee team, and the team was prepared for us from their first visit to FIT for the initial critique.”

To view videos of the competition’s progress follow the link to the  Jewelry Design webpage.