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Rio Grande Announces Winners of 16th Annual Saul Bell Design Award Competition

Published

8 years ago

May 27, 2016

INSTORE Staff

Designers competed in seven categories.

At a celebration dinner held on May 15 during the Santa Fe Symposium in Albuquerque, NM, jewelry supplier Rio Grande announced the winners of the 16th annual Saul Bell Design Award competition.

A panel of judges chose first- and second-place winners in each of six competitive categories, as well as in the Emerging Jewelry Artist category for designers 21 years and younger. Prizes, awards and congratulations were presented to each winning designer at the gala dinner. The winning designs, as well as all finalist pieces, are featured online at saulbellaward.com.

Here are the first place winners in each category:

Gold/Platinum Category:
First Place — $2,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
“The Queen”
Garen Garibian
Los Angeles, CA
Silver/Argentium Silver Category:
First Place — $2,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
“Unity”
Seung Jeon Paik
Savannah, GA
Metal Clay Category:
First Place — $2,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
“Adore”
Rodica Frunze
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Enamel Category:
First Place — $2,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
“On the Wing”
Debbie Sheezel
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hollowware/Art Objects Category:
First Place — $2,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
“Mace”
Tom Ferrero
Windsor, CT
Alternative Metals/Materials Category:
First Place — $2,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
“Moonshine”
Zoltan David
Bee Cave, TX
Emerging Jewelry Artist Category:
First Place — $500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate
“L’Oiseau de la Nuit”
Justine Quintal
Carignan, QC, Canada

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”