Entry deadline nears for Veneer Tech contest

Now in its 10th year, entries are still being sought for the annual Veneer Tech Craftsman’s Challenge, a woodworking design competition emphasizing creative uses of veneer. The contest is sponsored by Veneer Technologies and the entry deadline is June 1. The winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the Aug. 20-23 IWF in Atlanta.

The competition highlights achievements in the use of natural veneer product. Competition categories include architectural woodworking, cabinetry, furniture, specialty products, store fixtures, and student design.

Veneer Technologies started the contest to promote the use of veneers. It’s grown to spotlight the extraordinary talents of the makers, according to company sales manager Alan Hubbard.

“These guys are really basically artists and turning this veneer into some magnificent pieces that some of them I look at and can’t even fathom how they came up with the idea or they were skilled enough to put it all together,” Hubbard says.

“I think we should have over 100 entries this year. The most we ever had was 270; when the economy tanked we lost a considerable amount of entries.”

The contest will be judged by Tim Fixmer, publisher of CCI Media; studio furniture maker Alfred Sharp of Woodbury, Tenn., and Wave Oglesby, vice president of sales at Columbia Forest Products in Greensboro, N.C.

“We feel this year’s judges are all experts in the industry where they can see the quality work we’re looking for. Each one of them has their own unique background. We selected Wave because we wanted to incorporate the hardwood and plywood side of things,” Hubbard says.

The grand-prize winner will receive a cash award of $3,000. Category winners will each win $1,000. For an entry form and contest rules, visit www.veneertech.com.

This article originally appeared in the May 2014 issue.