Vote for Rita Hutchinson

It’s voting season, so why not vote for the design: “Mystical Trios: Magical Butterfly Necklace”, by Rita Hutchinson?

Thanks a GR!

(Bead-supplier talk, for “thanks a million”!)

Welcome Wendy Gibson, “guest” blog partner!

Another place you'll find our busy new blog partner

Wendy put her name in at our Blog Partners page, to be in our quarterly drawing.  She’s now our second (ever) winner in that ongoing contest!

5 things you didn’t know about Wendy, and why she’s going to rock your world for the next 3 months:

1. She’s the great mind behind the Peterborough Fairy Door Project!
2. Wendy’s our first Canadian blog partner…so she’s already celebrated Thanksgiving.
3. She’s not only a gifted blogger & indie entrepreneur, she’s also a popular girl on Twitter & Facebook.
4. The paper cutout version of Wendy has been spotted traveling with the ceramic Russ Troll bead
5. Wendy is an early adopter of the great new Twitter lists feature!

Enjoy reading Wendy’s Craft Dinner blog, and say hi to her at her other links above!

I have been reflecting on what wins an award in a contest. Is it the biggest / most elaborate entry? The one with the most obvious $$ spent?

What makes this a winning contest entry?

Lots of times, it does seem to look that way.  When you feel like it works that way, try looking at several years of winners for that contest.  There may be a unconscious bias working there somewhere.  I feel I have seen some cultural bias in international art exhibitions — this happens and you can’t really complain about it.  You can become aware of it and use it to your advantage, or at least know that it’s working against you.

So anyway….what makes a winner?  I think it’s always design. The work has to have good design.

How to get to good design?  Well, I guess my method is to collect ideas for a while, then I do small sketches (thumbnails) and play with my elements (beads/stones/etc.), until I start to get a real idea or concept in my mind’s eye.

Then I do some larger drawing.  I really like an expressive/abstract style of drawing — this gives me more ideas. After that:  I do a final design drawing to life-size, and really tight so I can cut metal to fit and all. Many times I get halfway through and the materials or visual ideas shift.  That may mean a new piece gets started, or that the current one gets benched for a while, or just improvements.

So in this description, how many pieces got designed?  Maybe 10 various directions — and from them, picking the best one and making builds for that GOOD DESIGN WINNER.

Lucky #1

Angela Bannatyne is the very first winner ever in our ongoing “I Want to be a Blog Partner!” contest.  She’s already written her first blog post about it.  Go have a read!

Every three months, we draw a name to be a guest Blog Partner.  We’ll send goodie packs of R&T items for review, for use in jewelry-making, or to give away–your choice.  It’s a great chance to check out some of the latest and the greatest in the realm of beads & findings!

The next drawing is at the end of October.  If you put your name in at our Blog Partners program page, we’ll keep it “in the hat” till it gets drawn.  So you don’t have to keep re-entering!

Best of luck!

Here’s a first announcement…  We invite craft jewelry makers to prepare their favorite handmade designs for the contest.  (Entries need not be jewelry—they can be any kind of design.)

Got designs? Rock our contest!

The Grand Prize in the 2010 Your Designs Rock contest will be a $750 Rings & Things credit.  First prizes will be awarded in each of five categories, each bringing a $250 Rings & Things credit.  Honorable mentions carrying $75 credits will be bestowed on additional entries singled out by the judges.  In addition, winning entries (with credit to the designer) could be featured in Rings & Things’ catalog and promotions, providing exposure to an estimated million people per year worldwide.

The 2010 design-contest categories are

• Glass & Crystal
• Gemstones & Pearls
• Mostly Metal
• Metal Clay
• Found Objects/Miscellaneous

Rings & Things is introducing a number of new features to the YDR contest this time around, making the competition more exciting than ever:

• New-entrant raffle: First-time entrants will be automatically entered into a raffle to win a goodie package.
• Early-bird raffle: Those who submit completed entries (up to 3) by early February  will be automatically entered into a raffle to win a goodie package!
• Expanded entry period: Entries will be accepted through January and February, 2010.

Anyone can enter, but a majority of parts in each design must be items that are available from Rings & Things.  (That includes things you buy at our BeadTour bead shows this Fall!)  Full contest guidelines are available online.

For prompt notification of 2010 contest details, interested designers can subscribe to Rings & Things’ e-newsletter as well as checking our blog.  YDR winners will be announced the first week of June.

Start planning now!  You can submit up to 3 designs!

We’re scouting for our first-ever Guest Bead Helper!  You could be an honorary BeadTour bead-show worker, with all the fame and glory that come with that honor.

Who set that table so nicely?

For our first foray into roadie recruiting, we’re looking for someone who can say “Yes” to all of these questions:

• Can you leave a comment below, to enter?
• Can you attend one of these bead shows?

1. Rochester on Sept. 24
2. Boston on Sept. 26
3. New Haven on Sept. 27
4. East Hanover NJ on Sept. 29
5. Philadelphia on Sept. 30

• Can you “set tables” with trays of beads?
• Will you let us buy you lunch and give you a goodie tote?

Other perks of the “job” include meeting our friendly crew and getting a behind-the-scenes look at how bead shows are put together — not to mention getting to start bead shopping before we open the doors to the public!

PS:  It’s a bonus if you’re an active Facebook-er, Twitter-er or blogger.  We’d love it if you talked online about your roadie experience!

We’ll announce our winner on Wednesday, September 16th. Good luck to everyone who enters the drawing!

So enter by leaving a note below…mention which city you’d like to help us in!

Pick. Buy. Review!

• Mara Nesbitt-Aldrich
• Maneki
• Christy Minnis
• Jody Blackwell
• Dawno

Congratulations!  Each of you was randomly selected to win a $50 Rings & Things gift certificate. Just get in touch with me (Dave) on Twitter or Facebook to claim your prize.

Thanks to the dozens of you who entered, and be sure to keep reviewing items in our online store. Did you know?…according to a Nielsen poll, most people trust product reviews as the most reliable source of information about an item they’re thinking of buying online.

Congratulations to 3 Bead Dreams winners who get hefty Rings & Things prizes!  Bead Dreams is Bead & Button’s “juried competition of exceptional bead artistry from around the world.”  We sponsored the Objects & Accessories category, which was brand-new this year!  Bead Dreams defines it as “a non-jewelry item or accessory, including, but not limited to, purses, shoes, sculpture, or wall hangings in any bead-related media.”

Here are the winners and their creations:

1st Place (Prize:  $300 Rings & Things gift certificate)

Satoko Toyoda's "Sparkling Treasure Chest"

2nd Place (Prize:  $200 Rings & Things gift certificate)

Heidi Kummli's "Fortune Teller"

3rd Place (Prize:  $100 Rings & Things gift certificate)

Melissa Grakowsky's "Ceremonial Headdress"

Do you suppose their creations will be featured in an upcoming Bead Dreams calendar?

Bead Dreams calendar featuring 2008 winners

Enjoy a shopping spree on us, winners!  We’re looking forward to seeing more great entries in next year’s competition

“Product Reviews” Contest

Beads! Win a gift certificate & get some!

Your valuable feedback on Rings & Things products could win you one of five $50 gift certificates!

The rules:

• Submit your review(s) of any product(s) in Rings & Things’ online store between June 1 and July 31, 2009.
• Tell us once you’ve left your first review.  Do this by commenting at this blog post.
  (Otherwise we won’t be able to contact you when you win!)
• We’ll randomly select the winners on August 3, 2009.
  Winners will be notified via email.

The lucky 'Wynn' rune charm

How to submit a product review:

1. In our online store, pick a Rings & Things product you’ve bought from us before.
2. Click on the ‘Write your own review’ link.
3. Rate the product, between 1 and 5 stars, and write an honest review.*

* Negative reviews are accepted, as long as they’re honest.  Rings & Things retains the right to remove fake or nonsensical reviews from the contest.

Not open to current Rings & Things employees.

So, comment below & tell us which product(s) you reviewed in our store!

Luck, embodied by these horseshoes (a.k.a. cable thimbles)

Congratulations to the winners of our April contest, “DIY Display Ideas“, who are:

• Mary Berg, who had several great tips (check them out!).
• Lyn, who shared from her 35 years of experience.

And, announcing the May contest on the Rings & Things blog, which is a free-for-all comment raffle:

• You enter by leaving comments — so visit often.
• You find out you won by…? Visiting often! (2 winners to be announced at the end of May.)

May the luckiest person win!

Kick it off right now: leave some comment entries below!