Winners of the 2006 Niche Awards were honored Feb. 19 in a ceremony at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia. The Niche award was given to artists in 38 categories including four each in home furnishings and wood. Sponsored by Niche magazine, a trade publication for retailers of American craft, the awards program recognizes excellence and innovation in the American and Canadian craft industry.

More than 1,000 entries from the United States and Canada were submitted for the 2006 competition. In November 2005, the magazine announced the 191 finalists who were invited to display their work at the Philadelphia Buyers Market, Feb. 17-20. Winners will be featured in the spring 2006 issue of Niche magazine.

Entries were judged on three main criteria:

• technical excellence, both in surface design and form

• market viability

• a distinct quality of unique, original and creative thought

The winning entries in the four home furnishings categories were:

• Furniture — Fatie Atkinson Design Interventions of Clyde, N.C., for “Tuxedo Chair”

• Clocks — Roger Wood clockworks of Toronto for “Jules Verne Clock, Type 791”

• Garden Art/Sculpture — Ralph Prata of Concrete Abstracts in Bloomingdale, N.Y., for “Sound Chaser”

• Lamps — Shayla Su of Lafayette, Calif., for “Furrow”

The winning entries in the four wood categories were:

• Carved — Mark Bressler of Dancing with Wood Studio in Santa Fe, N.M., for “Urabumba”

• Painted/Colored — Kimberly Winkle of Kimberly Winkle Designs in Smithville, Tenn., for “Argyle Sweater Stool”

• Traditionally Joined — Paulus Wanrooij of Paulus Fine Furniture & Crafts in Woolrich, Maine, for “Sunburst Bed”

• Turned — Curt Theobald of Curt Theobald Segmented Wood in Pine Bluffs, Wyo., for “The Wizard”

Other categories included ceramics, clothing, decorative fiber, fiber, glass, goblets, jewelry, lighting, metal, mixed and miscellaneous media, narrative, teapots and whimsical.

Applications for the 2007 Niche Awards will be available in early spring 2006 at http://www.americancraft.com/.

Contact: Niche magazine, 3000 Chestnut Ave., Suite 304, Baltimore, MD 21211. Tel: 410-889-3093. http://www.nichemag.com/

— Brian Caldwell