Ok, I have to admit that I was a little slow posting about this contest. It was on my calendar but I forgot to write about it until today, which is only a few days before the deadline. Well, consider it a heads up for next year’s competition.

This is the annual Saul Bell Design Award design contest which was created in honor of the Rio Grande founder in 2000. From the website:

This competition honors the spirit of Saul Bell and his life’s work. It is our hope that his influence will continue to inspire and enlighten jewelers everywhere… Designers are encouraged to unleash their imagination within any of several categories and push the boundaries of jewelry design.

I have to warn you that the jewelry designs that are entered in this competition tend to be rather elaborate; I have a feeling it’s geared more toward the seasoned designer rather than most of us who are either just starting out or making jewelry for fun.

However, that’s not to say that you can’t win with simpler strung necklaces. The necklace shown at right by Mary Smith of Beaded Jewelry by Design is called “Fall Leaf Necklace” and won First Place for the Beads category in 2006.

In addition, the $45 entry fee per item isn’t that prohibitive. But like I said, you’ve only got a few days left to enter. The entry form is due September 22. But maybe you can start on a masterpiece now to enter next year…

Also, the prizes are certainly nothing to sneeze about. The overall Grand prize nets a $10,000 gift cert at Rio Grande. There are four first places for each of the 4 other categories where you can win $2500, and five 2nd places that are worth $1000. All of the winners get their designs featured in Rio Grande’s publicity campaigns.

Visit the website for the Saul Bell Award Competition for more info.

2 Responses to “Saul Bell Award 2007”

PLEASE NOTE: All comments are moderated (So if you don't see your comment appear right away, don't resubmit it multiple times!)
  1. tracey Says:
    September 28th, 2006 at 10:35 am

    I just wanted to tell you, last year’s winner, Eva Martin (www.evamartin.com) is a graduate of North Bennet Street School (www.nbss.org.) NBSS is an amazing school that teaches traditional jewelry fabrication techniques along with the most modern of techniques and tools. It is a wonderful school… and not enough people know about it! And if you are wondering, yes, I am an alumni and on the alumni committee. And I always feel the need to share info about it!

  2. Eva Martin Says:
    November 29th, 2006 at 3:03 am

    I’ll second that Tracey! NBSS is a superb school, I had the most wonderful time there. The course emphasis is on fabrication technique rather than design, but I’m convinced that it’s important to learn good technique first. That way your designs are not constrained by what you can and can’t fabricate. And of course no matter how good the design, it won’t look good unless it’s made well.