For jewelry designers and exhibitors at the JA New York Summer Show, Monday was a day of recognitions, with the American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC) and show organizers calling out new talent and outstanding designers.

At an awards ceremony on Monday afternoon, the AJDC presented designer Leila Tai with a Michael Good-designed sculpture, honoring her as the grand-prize winner of the council’s 2009 New Talent Award.

Jewelry designer Leila Tai (center) was named the winner of the American Jewelry Design Council’s New Talent Award on Monday, July 27.

“The AJDC has been so important to me and to so many designers,” Tai said during the ceremony. “For me to get this award is even more special because of that.”

A jewelry-artist, designer and teacher who has worked for Gemveto and Van Cleef and Arpels over the years, Tai is no newcomer to the field of designing jewelry, but stepping out on her own to promote and sell her own work is a new endeavor.

Tai’s own works include limited-edition pieces celebrating perfection in nature, and she is especially known for her masterful use of the plique-a-jour technique.

Source: NationalJewelerNetwork

See Leila Tai creations on www.CIJintl.com