On March 16, 2014
So voting in this one could not have been easy on anyone! It certainly wasn’t for me. Each and every entry was filled to the brim with creativity, originality and a unique essence, with which only its creator could imbue it. Thumbing through the gallery of entries is like thumbing through a favorite book… and dog-earring all the best parts. Though, in this instance, I found myself licking a finger and reaching for the corner of every single page, worn with use and appreciation! I have to extend my gratitude to each of you who have entered, and those who were encouraging along the way. I’m sure those with a piece to submit appreciated the well wishes and applause as well, as they were all given so honestly and freely. It’s a beautiful sight to see when art is shared and enjoyed on any scale, great or small. Though this contest was just one corner of an artistic world, I was happy to live here for a time, and hope you were as well. I started earlier this evening tallying votes, and was glad for the added time. Several people voted multiple times and several voted without having entered. Some voted using alternate ID’s than those attached to their entries. Some voted via anonymous email. Eeep! I should have planned much better! But, the collection of votes declared a clear winner regardless, and I would like to introduce the over-all winner as Katerina Balarinova! Congratulations Katerina for Fan Favorite! You will be receiving a surprise piece of jewelry from the Nicole Hanna collection. Fan Favorite: Katerina Balarinova The judges also had themselves quite a time in determining their favorites, between the seven of us, a single winner arose the victor. Both for personality and its craftmanship. Congratulations to Susan Sutherland for Judges Favorite! You will be receiving the finished “Finish It!” design, as detailed in the Hidden Heart tutorial. Judged Favorite: Susan Sutherland Thank you again to everyone for your participation and patience while I still find myself sorting through the best means for hosting these contests, of which I am planning many many more! I ask that the winners email me their address at nikki.hanna@gmail.com so I can ship their winnings promptly! Also, if any entrant has yet to receive the finished (“Hidden Heart”) tutorial, please email me and I will get that to you as soon as possible. I apologize for all the confusion regarding emails and hope to have the process better streamlined in the future. And I hope you enjoyed yourselves, whether entered or whether viewing the gorgeous pieces. I’m already looking forward to the next one! View the entire GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! Happy weaving! Nicole
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On March 1, 2014
What an amazing month it’s been! February has brought to me emails full of delightful wonders. An incredible 85 emails, I might add. I’ve never been so impressed with the quality submitted into the “Finish It” contest, with the exception of every contest I’ve had the privilege of hosting. Because none of you ever cease to showcase your boundless abilities. I want to thank you for giving this contest a go and providing me an endless supply of inspiration this past month. Whenever I found myself lacking in the motivation I need to produce new work, an email serendipitously arrived to push my work forward again. Though there were a few submissions which were not, in the strictest sense, in alignment with the provided list of materials and tools, they were simply too beautiful not to share with you. And, of course, every participant will receive a copy of the finished tutorial (pictured above), just for giving it a go. Because really, the intention was to show you just how far you can go with the same set of steps, and a minimal set of supplies. Each entry is completely original to its creator and, I dare say, just as lovely! If you have entered and do not see your entry, rest assured, the email was likely lost in transmission somewhere along the lines. Resend and it will be added to the gallery as soon as possible! View the entire GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! On to the voting, shall we:
I hope you enjoyed the idea behind the contest, the partial tutorial, and the trials and errors which (if you are anything like me) most definitely followed before the great satisfaction of the final “Ah-HA!” moment. I have more of these planned in the coming months, and hope to see more entries as delicious as these have been! Eye candy, for sure! Happy weaving and see you soon! Nicole On February 3, 2014
I have to admit, I have a purely selfish motivation behind any contest I run. Sometimes, as an artist (and I’m sure you can all relate), there comes moments of extreme distortion when I lose my vision, if even just momentarily, and a crazy and wild fear sets itself inside of me. Oh boy… those are some ugly and frightening times. But then, just for the joy of creation, someone like you shows the fear in someone like me a poem or story, a drawing or remarkable piece of jewelry, and I can find my voice again. That’s all it takes. You showing me something beautiful, meaningful, original, and part of you. And because I can’t get enough of beautiful things, I’m holding another contest. I especially enjoy the “Finish It!” contests, because it shows just how versatile a single series of steps can be. How it will work:
Every contestant will receive the finished version of this tutorial simply for participating. So it’s a basketful of goodness, and all you have to do is try. Happy weaving everyone, and I hope you have fun! Nicole Note: this contest is now closed to new entries. On November 1, 2013 What an exciting and productive month!
October is always a time of personal reflection for me but, beyond that, is also an opportunity to ready myself for the winter months and prepare for my hibernation. Preferably with donuts and the first eight seasons of Supernatural. And my wire. Definitely my wire. But right now, at this very moment, I have the privilege of announcing the winners of this month’s design challenge, “Pumpkin Patch”, and welcome the turning of seasonal tides. Out of 17 entries, 17 of them were simply incredible. Each contained its own personal facets of creativity, ingenuity and freedom. The freedom to allow oneself the opportunity to speak to an audience through the power of ones own spirit and creative pulse. These entries personified this pulse entirely and with palpable enthusiasm. Each piece radiated character, true skill with the materials allowed and an inherent understanding of use, functionality and wearability, when applicable. Pieces were beautiful, functional, scenic and eerie, and perfectly fall….. I can hear the whisper of leaves even now….. Sigh…. So, without further ado, let me present to you the Peer-to-Peer, Fan Favorite and Judged Favorite winners. You can view their entries by clicking their name. Peer-to-Peer WINNER: Emma Wyatt Fan Favorite WINNER: Carmen Coppola Judged Favorite WINNER: Julie Lockhart Each of these winners will receive a variation of the pumpkin pendant featured above or, should they prefer, a 10-tutorial gift packet of their choice, and should email me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with their address, within 48 hours, to receive their winnings. Now, it should not go unsaid that each entry was remarkable, and the voting was unbelievably close in each category… by a count of a single vote in one instance… which is further evidence of the power of these remarkable pieces. I am confident you will enjoy them as surely as did I. I appreciate those who participated by submitting an entry or vote, and hope you will all join me for the next “Finish It!” contest which may, unfortunately, have to wait until the first of the year due to the holiday workload. However, if I can squeeze it in, you better believe I’ll toss it out there to all of you, because viewing your lovely work is inspiring and motivational and all together fun! View the entire GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! Thanks to you all, congratulations to the winners and happy weaving! Nicole On October 21, 2013
The deadline has arrived and it’s time to reveal the entries in the “Pumpkin Patch” design challenge. SQUEE! With 17 fabulous entries there is 17 reasons to SQUEE. Perhaps 18, if you include the collective SQUEE. I love pumpkins! And fall. And the color orange. And Halloween. And the pure magic and mystery contained within this collection of works. Now, I know Halloween and pumpkins aren’t exactly everyone’s favorite, however, because I started seeing ornaments and hearing Christmas music in stores last month, I couldn’t help but indulge in my obsession with the holiday and season before it shuffled along past as though it had never been. Now on to the voting! View the entire GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! In the Peer-to-Peer category, contestants may vote on other contestants only. Please do not commission friends and family to vote on your entry (though please feel free to share the gallery of entries for comments, accolades and general well-deserved applause!). If you are a contestant, cast your single vote by commenting “VOTED” on your favorite image (or by emailing me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with your vote). Contestants have until midnight, October 31st (US Eastern), to cast their vote. In the event of a tie, the contestants will be asked to place a second vote between the entries involved in the tie. Additional time will be allocated for a second round of voting, as necessary. In the Judged category, a panel of seven judges (myself included) will vote on our favorite entries, with the “most voted” winning top spot. The panel will consist of three jewelry artisans and four “consumers”. In the event of a tie (and because I can) my vote will act as tie-breaker. Since there are limited entries in this month’s contest, I am also opening voting to all Nicole Hanna Jewelry Facebook fans. I will create a Facebook post specifically designated for votes. This means we will have THREE “Pumpkin Patch” winners. FABULOUS odds! Votes will be tallied and the winner of both categories will be announced November 1st, at noon (US Eastern) or, in the case of a tie, on November 10th, noon (US Eastern). Winners will have 24 hours to email me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with mailing address to claim the prize: a copper custom pumpkin pendant! Now, have fun casting your vote, sharing the album, oogling the entries and generally enjoying the merriment. Contestants, give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done. The work on display is incredible! Now get over to that gallery and cast your vote, or just let the artist know you appreciate his or her vision, design or skill. Happy weaving! Nicole On September 17, 2013
Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. So it stands to reason pumpkins are a major theme in my house starting… well… now. Glass pumpkins, real pumpkins, pumpkin ornaments, pumpkin candles, pumpkin pie! It’s long since crossed the line of healthy appreciation and meandered into the fog-filled cemetery of “Holy obsession, Batman!”. The colors of fall somehow even make my pastey white flesh look warm and alive, so I wear pumpkin colors! Your challenge is simple…. placate my obsessive need for these lovably large melons with wire pumpkin goodies! I need pumpkins during the Michigan fall months to center and ground myself, to recharge my creative batteries, to inspire a sense of mystery and just because carving faces in them is the single most therapeutic activity next to working with wire itself. How it will work:
Now for the good stuff. Winnings:
I hope to see an entry from you soon! I’ll reveal my own pumpkin when the judging album is posted! I hope you have fun, because if you aren’t having fun, then you aren’t doing it right! Happy weaving, Nicole Note: This contest is closed to new entries, but you may read about the voting process and view the gallery of entries here. On July 7, 2013
After a fabulous submission of entries, and the subsequent voting period, it’s now time to announce the two winners of the contest. But first… a word from our sponsors. Which is me. I have to take a moment to congratulate each and every one of you for the skills displayed in these entries. With a few (sometimes troubling) limitations, you were each able to create something unbelievably unique and all together inspiring. Be it the creativity of a flying pig, the adorable watchful eyes of a snail, the intricacy of a wire tatted dragon or the regal fanning feathers of a peacock, these were some of the most remarkable animal-inspired pieces I’ve had the pleasure of viewing, and will no doubt push me to experiment with animal themes in the future. With that said, voting and judging commenced and two entries were ranked among the favorites. In the Peer-to-Peer voting, contestants placed a single vote on their favorite entry (excluding their own), and two pieces began to emerge as clear favorites: Carmen’s Gecko and Tommye’s Seafaring Critter! It even seemed we would experience our first tie, as votes became split between the two. Alas, since voting was open to contestants only, and non-contestants had placed their votes and expressed their favorites in some incredibly supportive comments, removing votes by non-contestants broke the tie and declared a winner. Our Peer-to-Peer victor is….. CARMEN’S GECKO! But wait! As fate would have it, the Judged category also revealed a clear and undisputed winner with a 5-2 win! Our Judged winner is….. TOMMYE SIGERFOO! I must admit I was amazed as the voting and judging commenced and in favor of which pieces, because these two were front-runners for sure. For a minute, I even wondered if one person wouldn’t win both categories! Well done to you both. Please email me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with your address to claim your prize…. a dragonfly pendant of your own. I’m only sorry I cannot offer you more for the wonderful work you’ve submitted and for the skills you’ve displayed. And though we should all take a moment to congratulate the winners, please stop by, visit the gallery of entries, and enjoy the depth of artistic vision each contestant displayed with their contributions. Though I wasn’t sure the outstanding work in the previous contest could be outdone, these contestants each brought their best. I will never expect less from this artistic congregation of friends. Thank you so much for entering the contest and, for those who were unable to do so, showering your fellow artisans with support during their journey. You will each be an inspiration to me in the days to come, by which I can empower myself to push beyond what’s safe, and create without the harness of fear reining me in. Congratulations again to the winners, and happy weaving! Nicole On July 1, 2013
The deadline has arrived and it’s time to reveal the wonderful entries in the June Design Challenge: “Animal Farm”. And 40 fabulous entries they are, each piece as unique as their creators! I knew, upon setting this quest before the bubbling creative force of these contestants, the challenge would perhaps prove itself daunting to some, entertaining to others, inspiring to most, but… in the end… hoped it proved itself enlightening to all who endeavored to try. I’ve always found what’s most challenging is often the most rewarding, even if the results are unexpected, and my deepest wish is that, despite its outcome, this contest somehow empowers the contestants with self-confidence and creative energy. Now on to the voting! View the entire GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! In the Peer-to-Peer category, contestants may vote on other contests only. Please do not commission friends and family to vote on your entry (though please feel free to share the gallery of entries for comments, accolades and general well-deserved applause!). Names will be added to their corresponding images once voting has finished (and in such cases the names are not imbedded in the image). If you are a contestant, cast your single vote by commenting “VOTED” on your favorite image (now closed). Contestants have until midnight, July 6th (US Eastern), to cast their vote. Forty contestants means up to forty votes will be tallied in the peer-to-peer category, though contestants are not required to place a vote if the decision is too much to bear. And trust me, I’d understand if that’s the case because these entries are seriously amazing! In the event of a tie, the contestants will be asked to place a second vote between the entries involved in the tie. Additional time will be allocated for a second round of voting, as necessary. In the Judged category, a panel of seven judges (myself included) will vote on our favorite entries, with the “most voted” winning top spot. The panel will consist of three jewelry artisans and four “consumers”. In the event of a tie (and because I can) my vote will act as tie-breaker. Votes will be tallied and the winner of both categories will be announced July 7th, at noon (US Eastern) or, in the case of a tie, on July 10th, noon (US Eastern). Winners will have 24 hours to email me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with mailing address to claim the prize: a copper dragonfly pendant! Now, have fun casting your vote, sharing the album, oogling the entries and generally enjoying the merriment. Contestants, give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done. The work on display is incredible! Now get over to that gallery and cast your vote, or just let the artist know you appreciate his or her vision, design or skill. Happy weaving! Nicole n June 10, 2013
Though “Animal Farm” doesn’t exactly inspire images of dolphins and dragonflies, I find what it does inspire is this: happiness. Warm fuzzies. The bright smile brought about by the snuggling of a beloved pet, or the brief glimpse of a wild animal in its natural habitat. And it is from these scenarios which inspiration is often discovered, fostered, then brought into being by artists utilizing a variety of mediums. For this design challenge, your medium is wire. The idea is to allow the wire to breathe into life the character and essence of what it means to recognize in nature a creative ideal. To allow oneself a moment of communion with a world bigger and brighter than typically recognized. To pay homage, simply put, to the environment which feeds, clothes and betters us as a community of souls and spirits living together in what we should always strive… harmony. How it will work:
Bonus points for the individuals who incorporate only wire. The bonus points don’t actually matter, but it’s fun to say “neener neener neener” when you win them. Now for the good stuff. Winnings:
I hope to see an entry from you soon! And have fun. If you aren’t having fun, then you aren’t doing it right! Happy weaving, Nicole NOTE: This contest is now closed. On May 23, 2013
“Finish It!” Cradle Pendant View the GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! This is it. Time to announce the winners of the “Finish It!” Contest. The road was long, and every entrant worked tremendously hard to submit original, stunning pieces of art. I appreciate the effort, and the obvious love for this craft which was expressed in every entry. There wasn’t a single piece I didn’t like, nor a single piece that wasn’t appreciated by the wider audience, in general. It was hard to settle on a favorite when one appeals to my sense of elegance, another to my sense of whimsy, and another still to my sense of style. So, I knew I’d need help. I commissioned the contestants to submit a vote of their own. Peer-to-peer voting. And the results were as close in the “Community Favorite” category as in the “Judged” category. A panel of seven judges (3 jewelry artisans and 4 consumers) were asked to pick their top three, and from these, a single winner emerged. Not surprisingly, this judged favorite also placed second in the community votes as well. Amazing work which shows a consistent appreciation by the audience as a whole. So, without further ado, here are your winners, who will each receive my entire tutorial suite, and their choice of “Finish It!” Cradle Pendant or mystery pendant: “Community Favorite”: Bonnie Jacobson “Judged Favorite”: Tommye Sigerfoos “Nicole Hanna Favorite”: Nadine Zanner And because I ignored my husband mercilessly this month (lovingly referred to as “Tunnel Vision”) and he was feeling incredibly left out of the entire process, he demanded I assuage his bruised ego and include his “Husband’s Pick Winner”, who will receive any three tutorials of her choice. “Husband’s Pick Winner”: Lea Young Congratulations to the winners! You all did a fabulous job, each entry as surprising and lovely as the next. I ask the winners to email me (nikki.hanna@gmail.com) to provide their address for the pendant and/or for receipt of the tutorial suite. Be sure to state whether you would prefer the “Finish It!” Cradle Pendant, or a surprise mystery pendant. And thanks to you all for your participation and understanding during the judging process. I hope future contests run smoothly as a result of the lessons learned here. Thanks to you all, and I hope to see this enthusiasm during the next event! Which, I will add, should be just around the corner, so stay tuned! Happy weaving and stay creative, Nicole |
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