At an exclusive celebration dinner held on June 2 during JCK Show, Rio Grande congratulated the Grand Prize winner and 12 category winners of the twelfth annual Saul Bell Design Award competition. From hundreds of submissions, a panel of judges chose 30 finalists and, from these, 12 winners emerged. More than $30,000 in prizes and awards was presented at the Saul Bell Design Award presentation and gala. Beyond recognition and prizes, many past Saul Bell Design Award winners credit the positive exposure to helping skyrocket their careers forward in the industry. Finalists and winning pieces may be viewed online at www.saulbellaward.com.
The competition challenges jewelry designers to push the boundaries of their imagination as they create original and innovative pieces in any of six categories. Each designer chose any of six categories as the foundation of their piece and integrated additional stones or materials as they wished, provided that the predominant category material remained at least 75% of the finished, original design.
Hollowware/Art Objects: Includes vessels and non--wearable objects made of precious metal using one or a combination of craft techniques to include spinning, drawing, forging, raising, repoussé, and forming or otherwise constructed primarily from milled stock. Decorative cast components can also be incorporated.
Gold/Platinum: The predominant metal is gold or platinum group metals including palladium or a combination. May be cast, fabricated, forged, assembled or created with any combination of techniques. Must be entrant’s original design.
Silver/Argentium® Silver: The predominant metal is silver or Argentium® Silver or a combination of both. May be cast, fabricated, forged, assembled or created with any combination of techniques. Must be the designer’s original design.
Metal Clay: The predominant material is either silver, gold, bronze or copper metal clay. Must be the designer’s original design.
Beads: The predominant elements are beads, pearls or other strung ornaments. Beads may be of any material. Must be the designer’s original design and assembly.
Enamel: The predominant surface material must be enamel. Use glass--based enamels and fire on any type of metal. Must be the designer’s original design and construction.
2012 Hollowware Category Winners:
First Place -- $2,500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Tom Ferrero of Windsor, Connecticut, USA
Name of Piece: "Gothic Teapot"
Second Place -- $1,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Steve Midgett of Franklin, North Carolina, USA
Name of Piece: "Melon Vase"
2012 Gold/Platinum Category Winners:
Grand Prize -- $10,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Robin Waynee of Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Name of Piece: "Rainbow Moonstone Bracelet"
Second Place -- $1,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Erik Stewart of Tucson, Arizona, USA
Name of Piece: "Transit"
2012 Silver Category Winners:
First Place -- $2,500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Chihiro Makio of Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Name of Piece: "A Strand of Planets"
Second Place -- $1,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Brian Quigley of South Portland, Maine
Name of Piece: "Neo Victorian Quest"
2012 Metal Clay Category Winners:
First Place -- $2,500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Christi Anderson of Marana, Arizona, USA
Name of Piece: "Fairy Queen Castle"
Second Place -- $1,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Susan Silvy of Parkville, Missouri, USA
Name of Piece: "Industrial Chic"
2012 Beads Category Winners:
First Place -- $2,500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Marina Babic of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Name of Piece: "Vine Necklace"
Second Place -- $1,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Le Bibelot of Brooklyn, New York, USA
Name of Piece: "Cathedral Necklace"
2012 Enamel Category Winners:
First Place -- $2,500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Kristen Holeman of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Name of Piece: "Iguana In the Garden"
Second Place -- $1,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
Jennifer Park of Budd Lake, New Jersey, USA
Name of Piece: "Bird in Flight"
The 2012 panel of judges included Michael Sugarman, G.L. Miller, Sessin Durgham, Ron Beauchamp, Steve & Nancy Attaway, Maria Samora, Charles Lewton--Brain, Tina Wojtkielo Snyder, Carolyn Benesh and Wayne Meeten.
The finalists of the 2012 Saul Bell Design Award competition are:
Geoffrey Giles of Asheville, North Carolina, USA-- Beads
Mary Heller of Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- Beads
Martha Peterson of Clearwater, Florida, USA -- Beads
Mengnan Qu of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia -- Enamel
Marie Scarpa of Petaluma, California, USA -- Enamel
Marcus Synnot of Mt.Claremont, Australia -- Enamel
D’Ette Delforge of Westminster, Colorado, USA -- Gold / Platinum
Thomas Herman of Stone Ridge, New York, USA -- Gold / Platinum
Pierre--Yves Paquette of Saint--Sauveur Quebec, Canada -- Gold / Platinum
Joost During of New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA -- Hollowware / Art Objects
Dan Lippitt of Madison, Wisconsin, USA -- Hollowware / Art Objects
Artur Sienko of Midvale, Utah, USA -- Hollowware / Art Objects
Christi Anderson of Marana, Arizona, USA -- Metal Clay
Emma Baird of Edinburgh, Scotland -- Metal Clay
Sandy Mikel of Hawthorne, Florida, USA -- Metal Clay
Chikako Ando of New York, New York, USA -- Silver
Karina Mattei of Brookline, Massachusetts, USA -- Silver
Sooyoung Kim of Hopatcong, New Jersey, USA -- Silver
For information about the upcoming 2013 Saul Bell Design Award competition, designers are invited to call 800.952.6222 or e-mail [email protected].
Visit www.saulbellaward.com for general information about the Saul Bell Design Award.
