Alumna, Diamond Cellar team up for student project

Alumna Christine Cooper Hill (CCAD ’87) and Columbus-based jewelry-giant Diamond Cellar are partnering together to offer CCAD students the opportunity to have one of their designs sold by the company.

The 14 students in Kelly Malec-Kosak’s jewelry design course were given one week to sketch their designs before they were reviewed on Nov. 23 by Cooper Hill.

“Because she’s an alumna, she’s able to be critical but kind, which means the students had an easier time asking her questions,” said Malec-Kosak.

As a jewelry designer for Diamond Cellar and Christine Cooper Hill Jewelry, Cooper Hill offered advice and suggestions to the students. They now have the opportunity to make changes to their design before the final jury by Diamond Cellar's visiting artists.

The jury will select one winning design. The student with the winning design will receive $1,000 to produce the piece, which will be promoted in the company’s stores December 2011.

Cooper Hill has been designing and handcrafting fine jewelry for more than 22 years, launching her own company in 2007. She is a two-time award winner in The Ohio Jewelers Association Design Competition.

The Diamond Cellar is one of the largest independent jewelry stores in the United States and represents some of the world’s finest brands, including award-winning designers David Yurman and Stephen Webster.

The Diamond Cellar recently brought both Yurman and Webster to CCAD’s campus, where they offered career advice to students and critiqued their designs. Read more about Yurman’s visit in IMAGE magazine, and Webster’s on CCAD’s News Blog.

Check back with the CCAD News Blog in December to find out who won the competition.