Future jewellers show their stuff

Posted June 01, 2010 |

Young jewellery designers from around Australia were recently honoured at the Student Design Awards. View our photo gallery of the winning entries.

The Australasian Student Design Awards honours innovative designs from tertiary students throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Awards are given in a number of categories, including jewellery, fashion, textiles and industrial design.

Jewellery designer and manufacturer Peter W Beck sponsored the The Jewellery Design category. This year’s winner was NSW TAFE student Minh Tran, for her “One Thousand Ships” necklace.

The piece (pictured) features aluminium, stainless steel and rubber.

Tran, who is studying a Certificate III in jewellery trade and manufacturing, plans to work in the jewellery industry.

She said that while her winning entry was a concept piece she would love to produce jewellery for a mass market later in her career.

“I’d like to take my concepts and simplify them into more commercial designs,” she said.

Second place went to Queensland College of Art student Kate Allbon Sargeant, for her necklace made from sterling silver recycled from old coins.

The piece necklace consists of 21 pieces, each of which can be removed and worn independently as a pendant, brooch or bracelet.

In third place was NSW TAFE student Michelle Miller for her aluminium spiral necklace.

A commendation went to Victorian TAFE student Marieke Treloar for her wooden jewellery collection.

Now in its fifteenth year the competition is run by the Design Institute of Australia (DIA).

The awards are open to any adults currently studying or undertaking an apprenticeship.

Twenty-five tertiary institutes are invited to nominate their top three students for the competition, with prizes including cash grants, free design courses and DIA memberships.

NSW councillor Philippa Wilkinson and Stephen Ormandy, founder of jewellery manufacturer Dinosaur Designs judged The Jewellery Design category

First prize was a $1,000 cash grant from Peter W Beck and a one-year DIA membership.

Visit our image gallery to see this year’s winning entries.

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Image Gallery (4 Images)