At the recent VT Fine Furniture & Woodworking Festival the
finest wood craftsmen in Vermont exhibited their design entries in the
Vermont Woodworking Design Competition.
The entries were displayed not only
for the judges, but for the public to give them an opportunity to see, first
hand, the broad scope of work designed and created by the state's many
artisans. The panel of prestigious judges included Mark Schofield of Fine
Woodworking Magazine, Dan Faia of North Bennett Street School, and James
Murray from Simon Pearce Glass. Judges enjoyed the day with their clipboards
on hand, making notes that would help them decide who would walk away with
the 1st place awards in the various categories offered. Four professional
categories were offered for Custom or Studio Furniture, Production
Furniture, Custom Woodenware, and Carvings or Sculptures, in addition to one
student/apprentice category for those 18 and enrolled in school for
woodworking. Pieces were judged based upon the quality of the craftsmanship
and the innovativeness of the design. The Competition was open only to those
pieces that are designed and made in Vermont, by Vermont woodworkers and
students.
SEE LIST WITH PICTURES BELOW
First Place prizes were awarded in each of the categories to the following
professional woodworkers: production furniture to Brent Karner of ClearLake
Furniture for his Wall Unit, custom or studio furniture to Johns Congdon for
his Alienor Writing Desk; custom woodenware to Ted Fink of TJF Turnings, LLC
for his Heartwood bowl, and carvings and sculpture to TJF Turnings, LLC for
Puzzle Piece Bowl.
Chris Ramos took the 18+ student/apprentice award for his Office Desk, 2nd
place was awarded to Rachel Brydolf-Horwitz for her Cailligraphy Cabinet,
and 3rd place went to Tyler Gebhardt for his Floating Top Hall Table.
Comments from the judges on Ramos' winning entry included, "Nice contrast of
legs & surface" and "Good design". Ramos is in his final semester at
Burlington Colleges' Associates Degree in Fine Furniture Making program,
which is implemented at the Vermont Woodworking School in Fairfax, VT.
Rachel & Tyler made their entry while enrolled in the Burlington College
Certificate program. Students learn the fundamentals of woodworking, and
fine tune their skills by participating in skills-based classes and
workshops offered by members of the Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers. To
view more about the woodworking certificates and programs offered at
Burlington College & the Vermont Woodworking School please visit
https://www.burlington.edu/content/woodworking-school.
We would like to thank the following companies for their prize donations:
Fine Woodworking Magazine, Alisam Engineering, Berkshire Products, Super
Thin Saws, Groff & Groff Lumber, Inc., Blum Tools, Starrett, American
Woodworker, General Finishes, Woodworkers Journal, Waterlox, Dremel, and
Rockler Woodworking & Hardware. We would also like to thank the Jackson
House Inn, The Kedron Valley Inn, and the Hawk Inn & Resort for providing
accommodations for our design competition reception guests. Cabot Creamery
Cooperative, Mac's Market and Gillingham's Store were also generous
supporters of our reception. We couldn't have done it without everyone that
was involved.
Congratulations 2011 Vermont Fine Furniture & Wood Products Design Competition Winners
Custom/Studio Furniture
Place
Item
Winner
Click on image for larger photo
1
Alienor Writing Desk
John Congdon
Johns Congdon Furniture Design
Design by Giovanna Brunini Congdon
www.johnscongdon.com
2
Abacus Table
Mario Messina
Mario Messina Designer Craftsman
3
State of Craft Table
David Hurwitz
David Hurwitz Originals
www.davidhurwitzoriginals.com
Production Furniture
1
Large Wall Unit
Brent Karner
ClearLake Furniture
www.clearlakefurniture.com
Custom Woodenware
1
Heartwood Bowl
Ted Fink
TJF Turnings, LLC
www.tjfturnings.com
2
Norwegian Time
Carl Newton
Carl Newton, Bentwood Box Maker
www.bentwoodboxmaker.com
3
Cherry Lamp
David Hurwitz
David Hurwitz Originals
www.davidhurwitzoriginals.com
Carving & Sculpture
1
Puzzle Piece Bowl
Ted Fink
TJF Turnings, LLC
www.tjfturnings.com
2
The Hunter
Rich DeTrano
Rich DeTrano Woodturner
Ludlow. VT
Student (18 & over)
1
Office Desks
Christopher Ramos
Burlington College
Associate of Arts in Craftsmanship & Design
www.burlington.edu
2
Calligraphy Cabinet
Rachel Brydolf-Horwitz
Vermont Woodworking School
www.vermontwoodworkingschool.com
3
Floating Top Hall Table
Tyler Gebhardt
Vermont Woodworking School
www.vermontwoodworkingschool.com
Congratulations to everyone that entered into the competitions. A complete
list of winners in all categories can be found at
www.vermontwooddesigns.org.
WOODSTOCK, VT-