The 2012 Niche Award Winners for Jewelry Design

Cityscape Lisa Hawthorne, the winner in the gold jewelry with stones category. 

The annual Niche Awards, which honors the best in contemporary design by American and Canadian artisans, were presented February 18 during a ceremony at the Buyers Market of American Craft tradeshow in Philadelphia.

Professionals and college students received awards in several categories including gold, silver and gemstone jewelry; fashion accessories; fiber arts and quilts; baskets; blown, fused and cast glass; metalwork; outdoor art; tables and seating; cabinetry; and teapots.
The awards competition, in its 22nd year is sponsored by Niche magazine, which serves retailers of American-made and Canadian-made gift and art products.

You can view the winners in the jewelry categories by following this link.

PROFESSIONAL WINNERS:

Fashion Jewelry, Penelope Bracelet, Kathleen Nowak Tucci 

Fine Jewelry, Mizu Wave Ring, Andrea Williams

Gold Jewelry, Circus, Circus, Pierre-Yves Paquette

 Gold Jewelry with Stones, Cityscape, Lisa Hawthorne

Jewelry Sculpture to Wear, Reconfiguring the Ordinary: Twist Looped and Linked, Yong Joo Kim

Silver Jewelry, Collar, Michael and Maureen Banner.

Silver Jewelry with Stones, Le Mirage, Aleksandra Vali

Wedding Jewelry, Cell Band Wedding Set, Emily Johnson

STUDENT WINNERS:

Fashion Jewelry, Summer Dream, Leeyeon Yoo

Fine Jewelry, Beautiful Coexistence, Hyangmi Kim

Jewelry Sculpture to Wear, Garden of Eden - Haircomb, Kristopher Leinen

2011 Niche Award Winners in Jewelry Design

Oceanic Bangle Bracelet

The winners of the 2011 Niche Awards for jewelry were announced February 18 during the Buyers Market of American Craft show in Philadelphia. The Niche Awards annually celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian craft. They are sponsored by the trade publication, Niche.

Judging was based on three main criteria:

• technical excellence, both in surface design and form
• a distinct quality of unique, original and creative thought
• market viability (professional entries only)

There will be more stories in the coming days from the BMAC show (held February 17-21). For now, the professional and student Niche award winners are as follows:

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

 
Jewelry: Fashion
Swing
Wiwat Kamolpornwijit
Alexandria, Va.

 Jewelry: Fine
Fluted
Erik Stewart
Tucson, Ariz.

Jewelry: Gold (two winners)
Mother’s Brooch
Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez
Henrietta, N.Y.

 Mandala Ring #2
Jason Dow
Honolulu, Hawaii

Jewelry: Gold with Stones
Circle Disk Brooch with Gold and Pearls
Sadie Wang
Silver Point, Tenn.

 Jewelry: Sculpture to Wear
Oceanic Bangle Bracelet
Kevin O’Grady
Scottsdale, Ariz.


 

 Jewelry: Silver
Lunar Cycle Necklace
Genevieve Yang
Santa Rosa, Calif.

 Jewelry: Silver with Stones
Daisy Diamond Stem
Patricia Tschetter
Dallas

 Jewelry: Wedding
Orange Diamond Ceramic Engagement Ring
Etienne Perret
Camden, Maine




 STUDENT AWARDS

Jewelry: Fashion (two winners)
Finally Coming Home
Andrew Kuebeck
University of Indiana

 Night Blossom Brooch
Bongsang Cho
Savannah College of Art and Design

 Jewelry: Fine
The Laurel
Youngjoo Yoo
University of Iowa







Jewelry: Sculpture to Wear (two winners)
Untitled
Young Eun Tammy Kim
California State University





 

Patterns of Being
Sarah West
East Carolina University





In addition to jewelry, awards were given out in the following categories: Clocks, Ceramics, Fiber, Glass, Metal, Wood and Jewelry.