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AJDC Announces the Winners of the First Jose Hess Design Awards September 26, 2022 (1 comment)
Hermitage, PA--The American Jewelry Design Council announces the winners of the first Jose Hess Design Awards.
In 2021, AJDC lost an influential founding member, Jose Hess, one of the first designers to see that design-driven jewelry was the future of the jewelry industry. To honor Jose’s legacy and encourage today’s visionary new designers, AJDC created the Jose Hess AJDC Design Challenge.
Applicants for the new Jose Hess AJDC Design Challenge were asked to design and create an original piece of jewelry, based on the theme “Connection,” which mirrors the AJDC Design Theme Projects for 2022.
The contest received dozens of entries. The first round of judging chose 25 entries, and the final round of judging selected the seven winners. AJDC says that the judges were overwhelmed by the design and craftsmanship of the entries and selecting the seven winning entries was a difficult process.
One winner will receive the grand prize of $15,000 and the others will receive $1,000 each.
The grand prize winner will be announced at a gala event on February 2, 2023, at the Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum in Tucson, Arizona during the Tucson Gem Shows.
The seven winning entrants are:
- Darcy Shea Bogdan
- Marianne Hunter
- Sandra McEwen
- Baiyang Qiu
- Everett W. Redus
- Deborah Vivas
- Liang Chung Yen
AJDC will release photographs of the 7 winning entries shortly. More information about the Gala Event is forthcoming.
The Judges for the Jose Hess Design Awards were:
- David Freda
- Barbara Heinrich
- Magdalena Hess
- Paul Klecka
- Gregore Morin
- Susan Sadler
- George Sawyer
For more information about the Jose Hess Design Awards and the AJDC, visit www.ajdc.org or contact Marylouise Sirignano Lugosch, AJDC executive director at, marylouise@ajdc.org or by
phone at 724-977-4076.