Hand-making Heroes Competition Winner

This Silver, Onyx and Jade Handcrafted Necklace by Felicity Gail is winner of this year's Hand-making Heroes Handmade Gift Competition. After being short-listed by the judging panel in February, this UK handmade necklace went on to win the online vote, beating 7 other finalists.

Voting took place through March and April. In excess of 2000 valid votes were cast by visitors to competition sponsor, gift seller pressies4princesses. In what became a two contestant race, Felicity Gail's handmade necklace ultimately pipped Steph Littlechild's handcrafted collage portraits at the post.

Felicity Gail is not the name of the designer, but a brand name that Jackie Durrans and Debbie Brenner produce and sell their design-led handmade jewellery under. Taking style clues from modern art sculpture and furniture, their striking handcrafted jewellery is already sold at Tate galleries. In fact, the Tate has commissioned this talented duo to craft jewellery for several exhibitions, including Oiticica, Millais and Klimt.

Jackie and Debbie will receive £500 to invest in their hand-making business. They will also have the opportunity to supply pressies4princesses with their exciting handcrafted jewellery, which could be the start of a great business relationship.

Handmaking Heroes was conceived to encourage UK hand-making enterprise. All UK-based designer/hand-makers were eligible to enter. The competition was sponsored by pressies4princesses (where I am managing partner).

I and the rest of the team at pressies' were so encouraged by the first competition that we aim to bring it back next year, bigger and better. So, if you're thinking of entering next year, keep an eye on this blog for details of the launch.

£1500 prize for best new hand-made gift

Give your hand-making business a leg-up with this cash and money-cannot-buy prize offered in conjunction with my employer, pressies4princesses.co.uk.

What would you do if I gave you £500 in cash to invest in your hand-making business? And, how about if you had guaranteed orders worth £1000, for starters? Could your business use bags of priceless free publicity? And imagine how confident you would feel approaching other retailers, when you can show them you already supply a high profile gift retailer. Can you picture your handiwork beautifully presented and enthusiastically sold on pressies' pages? Great. Then get your entry in.

The buyers over at pressies4princesses - myself included - spend an awful lot of time hunting for new niche gift suppliers. We're fanatical about offering our customers something different; something that can't be found on every high street. Gift shoppers want to give something special, unique, unusual - probably because it shows they put some effort into choosing the gift. So, tired of the tireless search, we hit upon the idea of coaxing craftspeople out of anonimity and on to pressies' gift pages with a worthwhile competition.

I hope this competition will attract some serious talent and maybe even kick-start someone's hand-making business. Perhaps it will give you an incentive to have a go and wind up being the start of a whole new working life! That may sound a bit melodramatic, but ask established suppliers like Claire Wood and you'll hear just what a difference pressies' can make.

Claire Wood's Handmade Jewellery

The competition is open to anyone. The proviso is that you are serious about hand-making and will be able to supply hand-made gifts to pressies' on an ongoing basis. No five minute wonders, please.

Your gift must be handmade in the UK, though it can be produced from component parts that are not. It can be a bespoke/ personalised gift, but cannot be an unrepeatable one off. Yes, it may be (almost certainly will be) subject to variations in the components and handmaking, but you must be able to "make more of the same". For personalised gifts, the style must be repeatable. So, in the case of our pop art canvas print, each purchase is based upon a different person, but the concept is the same - a pop art style picture from a portrait photograph.

We are looking for exciting unusual handmade gifts, so creativity is important. Any beaded jewellery is going have to be very unusual and truly remarkable to win. Also, the gifts should be relevant to pressies' shoppers, men and women buying for women. No gifts for men, or children or pets. New baby gifts are welcome, because these are usually more appreciated by the mother than the child!

To enter you need to email or mail a good quality picture (spend a little time on this as it'll be all we have to go on) and your sales pitch in your own words to pressies by the end of February 2008.

Submit your entries online here: Hunt For Hand-making Heroes - Handmade Gift Competition

Post your entries to: Hunt For Hand-making Heroes, Net Alternative, Po Box 653, Rickmansworth WD3 0DY.

So, get to it... please. We really would love to see what you have to offer and look forward to the prospect of working with you. Don't forget, there may only be one prize, but the pressies4princesses buyers will be pouring over every entry looking for future gift suppliers. Don't delay, make your entry today!