A peek inside: judging R&T's contest

Some of you have been curious to know more about the inner workings of R&T’s yearly contest, so our Melissa kindly provides a glimpse…

A peek…

Contest Judging Is Under Way

We always love to watch the entries roll in for our annual Your Designs Rock! Contest, and this year has been no different! We enjoy seeing familiar names, and we’re equally excited to have a large number of first-time contestants this year. New contestants will be entered into a drawing for a free goodie bag (winner announced the first week of June). We’re also excited to see entries from across the US (Florida to California, Texas to New Hampshire), and from Canada, Australia, Sweden, Singapore, Norway, Spain, India and Russia — a nice reminder of how far from humble Spokane, WA, Rings & Things’ circle of friends extends.

While the deadline to enter this year’s contest has passed, the work is far from over. This year’s winners will be chosen by six judges, all busy at work scoring a huge variety of creations. Our judges are all active in the arts-&-crafts community. They are required to have experience with both jewelry-making and with submitting their creations to competitive juries. So, for those of you contestants anxiously awaiting results, our judges can sympathize!

…behind the scenes

The judges individually score designs for each of the three advertised criteria: originality of design, quality of craftsmanship and overall aesthetics. Scores remain secret, so please do not waste time calling to inquire — we just find that things work better that way. In the end, the combined score is what counts! In other words, winners will be strong in all three criteria. Once tallies are complete, the judges meet to confirm the winners. After that, a flurry of work begins to create gift certificates, prepare announcements, and display winning entries in our online Design Gallery.

Winners will be announced the first week of June. We know it’s a long wait, but good things often take time! 🙂 Thanks to all of our 2010 contestants for another great year of exciting designs. Best of luck to you all!