17-year-old Jasmine Williams from Sackville School in East Grinstead, Sussex has been awarded the prestigious title of Young Artisan of the Year 2019 by the South of England Agricultural Society for her breathtaking handmade tutu creation.
Entered by over 70 individuals between 14 and 21 years old across Berkshire, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, the competition challenged the youngsters to design and produce handmade creations utilising craft methods including woodwork, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, design and technology.
Sue Ng, from the South of England Agricultural Society, said:
“This competition has been running for over 30 years now and embraces two of the Society’s key objectives as a charity – to promote crafts and skills, and to encourage young people to extend themselves and produce work of the highest standard.
“All of the entries we received were of an impeccable standard and it was wonderful to see so many youngsters showcasing their talents. A huge congratulations must go to Jasmine though: all our judges agreed that her tutu creation was absolutely stunning and the attention to detail, embroidery and finished stitch work could easily lead to a career in costume design.”.
Jasmine, as the overall Gold winner, received a £1,000 whilst the runners up were awarded £600 and £400 as overall Silver and Bronze winners. These three winners also received £300 for coming first in three of the five sections within the competition.
On her win, Jasmine said:
“I am absolutely thrilled. The tutu was designed for ‘The Lilac Fairy from the Sleeping Beauty Ballet’. I hope to go to London to study stage costume design and winning this competition will be a huge boost to my portfolio and really help with my college application.”
For more information on the Young Aristan of the Year competition and how to enter next year’s competition, visit the website.
