Niche magazine announces craft finalists

Niche magazine recently announced the finalists for its 2009 Niche Awards competition in the professional division. The annual awards program recognizes the outstanding creative achievements of North American craft artists who produce work for craft galleries and retail shops. Jurors selected 149 finalists out of more than 1,000 entries in 34 categories.

The finalists’ work will be on display Feb. 13-16 at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft. Winners will be revealed Feb. 15 at a ceremony. The finalists in the Wood categories are:

Carved
Milo R. Mirabelli, Mirabelli Designs, Port Orchard, Wash.; Terry Evans, Spiritwood, Overland Park, Kan.; Will Tait, Portola Valley, Calif.; Kimberly Winkle, Kimberly Winkle Designs, Smithville, Tenn.

Painted/Colored
Danny Kamerath, Dallas; Wendy Grossman, Studio 78, Phoenicia, N.Y.; Meg Romero, Meg Romero Studio, Cumberland, Md.; Avner Zabari, Miami.

Traditionally Joined
Andrew Pitts, Andrew Pitts FurnitureMaker, Heathsville, Va.; Seth Rolland, Seth Rolland Custom Furniture, Port Townsend, Wash.; Damon McIntyre, DMc Custom Design Studio, Gatlinburg, Tenn.; Mark Whitley, Whitley Limited Edition Furniture, Smiths Grove, Ky.

Turned
John Goodyear, Joyear Studio, Torbay, Newfoundland; Malcolm Zander, JMZ Woodworking, Ottawa, Ontario; Jim Lorriman, Bits & Pieces Studio, Shelburne, Ontario; Steve Hilton, Wichita Falls, Texas; William Luce, Renton, Wash.

This article originally appeared in the January 2009 issue.