Pratt Institute

Personal URL

Education

M.A., University of Wisconsin Madison

Biography

Leila was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. After her BachelorÂ’s in Art Education at the American University of Beirut, she received a Master of Fine Arts and Education with a focus on Metal Work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her interest in design, and especially solving 3D problems, developed as a result of taking a graduate course on the giants of architecture. In New York, designing became a passion. There she met and studied with several prominent jewelry designers, including Ed Wiener, Donald Clafflin and Jean Stark.

Leila has designed for fine-jewelry firms, including Van Cleef and Arpels and Tiffany, and fashion-jewelry firms, including Trifari, Monet and Liz Claiborne. Two recent collections of her own, “Spring” and “Wings,” feature the plique à jour technique, currently her favorite medium for self-expression. Leila’s work will be showcased at the upcoming National Jewelry Institute Designer Showcase at The Forbes Galleries in New York City in April, 2008. She has taught courses at the American University of Beirut, Fashion Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, ParsonÂ’s School of Design, and the Revere Academy.