Winners announced for Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest 2014
Vicenza, Italy, May 10, 2014 – The three winners have been chosen for the Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest, the third edition of the prize dedicated to young designers under 30, organised by Vicenza Fair with the Design Faculty of Milan Polytechnic.
Selected by a jury of experts from among over 140 creative entries from all over the world, the winners were awarded their prizes on Saturday 10th May at 17.00 in the ORIGIN PASSION AND BELIEFS Lounge.
After the success of the first two years of the contest, Fiera di Vicenza decided to continue its support for the growth of young creative designers in 2014, with an initiative that would represent an important scouting tool for the international gold and jewellery industry.
This year, the Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest called on young and emerging designers to create pieces on the theme of “sentimental jewellery” which was introduced in the Victorian period to celebrate the most important events in life, from birth to marriage.
Designers were completely free to choose the materials used to create the different type of jewellery: rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets or brooches.
The first prize was won by Maria Celeste Sangermani with her design, “Hold Me”. Second place went to the “Net Mesh” necklace by Annarita Cavaglià, and third was Alessandra Del Nero with “Me”.
“With the Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest, we want to give designers under 30 the chance to get noticed by the most important names in the business.
For the most talented, participation in the competition can even translate into an opportunity to launch their creations on the international market,” said Corrado Facco, Managing Director of Vicenza Fair.
“And we are really satisfied, because we received hundreds of entries from all over the world, for the 2014 edition too”.
The Czech Republic, France, England, India, Holland, Germany, USA, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, China and Italy were represented by designs for unique and original jewellery pieces.
A difficult choice faced the jury of experts: Gijs Bakker, Designer and Founder of Droog Design; Luisa Bocchietto, President of ADI – Industrial Design Association; Alba Cappellieri, Jewellery Design Professor at Milan Polytechnic; Marco Romanelli, Designer; and Augusto Ungarelli, President of Club degli Orafi Italia.
The medal winners of Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest 2014
1st Prize – “Hold Me” by Maria Celeste Sangermani
The “Hold Me” brooch is inspired by the loving relationship between a mother and her child; a pure and authentic bond that is expressed through small, simple actions. The design is a study of a mother’s embrace, returned by her child in a movement of deep affection, with the focus on the child’s hand, holding onto the mother, showing a desire for unity and at the same time, fear of separation. An intimate, natural gesture that is frozen in time; a lasting memory; the emblem of the ever-lasting love between mother and child.
2nd Prize – “Net Mesh” by Annarita Cavaglià
The “Net Mesh” necklace was created as a means of interaction between mother and child. The jewel, worn by the mother, allows the child to play, bite and pull the silicone threads, without the risk of swallowing them or bothering the mother while in her arms. The design is influenced by the idea of the “tree of life”, with its branches intersecting to reflect, as believed in many cultures, the gift of a new life. The materials used for this project are silver for the structure and silicone (child safe) for the threads.
3rd Prize – “Me” by Alessandra Del Nero
“Me” is a ring. It consists of a silver leaf, plated on top with rhodium for the image to reflect from, and oxidised on the bottom. It rests on a band, which is also in silver. Designed to be worn on the middle finger, it is devised to be a gift to oneself, an emblem of love. During the earliest stage of the project, the material is broken up and put back together to return a fragmented, unrecognisable image of ourselves when we wear different masks within society. In the second stage, the designer played with a mirrored sheet of polystyrene, finding his own distorted reflection in the concave surface, almost as a reminder not to reflect too much on oneself, but to focus on the moment and to enjoy it in full.
