Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Announces the Winners of the 2009 Annual Beading Contest

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Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Announces the Winners of the 2009 Annual Beading Contest

(Grants Pass, Oregon)--Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®, America's favorite beading and jewelry supply company, announces the winners of the 2009 Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Annual Beading Contest.

Fire Mountain Gems and Beads received more than 1,700 entries in over 20 main contest categories from designer-artists around the world. This year's categories included cabochons, jumprings, metal beads, briolette/glass, dolls, clothing, home décor, holiday ornaments, freeform jewelry, Kato Polyclay™, Art Clay®, metal chain, pearls, organics, seed beads, Swarovski®, turquoise and wire work.

The panel of judges selected 306 finalists from the entries received. Many of the winning pieces will be showcased in future Fire Mountain Gems and Beads catalogs and in the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Gallery of Designs.

Winning Designer-Artists in Each Category
Category	Gold Medal Winner	Silver Medal Winner	Bronze Medal Winner
Art Clay® and Metal	Diane Sepanski	- Tie - Kim Rausch Dianne Sims	- Tie - Ruth Baillie Michela Verani
Briolette	Patricia A. Holt	Ruth Ivette Molina Velez
Cabochon	Linda Magby	Louisa M. Meece	Karen L. Gotchen
Earrings	Dale Armstrong	Julie Anstaett	Karen R. Roberts
Findings	Victoria Percy	Gabrielle Taylor	Beth Price
Freeform Expression - Doll	Elena Loukianova	Nancy Hall	Katrina Wood
Freeform Expression - Clothing and Accessories	Betty Neve	Jessica Tiemens	Linda S. Martin
Freeform Expression - Home Décor	Dagny Sellorin	Karen L. Carmichael	Paula K. Singer
Freeform Expression - Jewelry	Tamara Allison	Tina Hauer	Crystal Probst
Gemstone	Jamie Cloud Eakin	Francesca Walton	Carol Marlin
Glass, Czech Pressed and Lampwork	Ines Sofia Tejada	Lisa Jaccard	- Tie - Sheila Davis Judy Muth
Jumprings	Laura Saint Martin	Gwynette Kea Werth	Victoria Anne Stokes
Kato Polyclay™	Susan Bailey	Kaaren Poole	Sharlene Maher
Metal Beads and/or Chain	Nydia Diaz	Rachel Fleming	Meuris Lieve
Pearls, Natural or Created	Keiko Wada	Derralynn McMaster	Quita Hartfiel
Seed Beads	Olga Dillow	Betty Stephan	Barbara L. McGonagle
Shell, Wood, Bone	Susan Terese McKechnie	Sue Lindsey	Danna Cristina Mercado De Leon
Swarovski®	Olena Bugrimenko	Sharon Demaris	Sailaja Hari
Turquoise and/or Coral	Janice C. Hernandez Cordova	Kimberly Vetto	Bonnie Weikert
Wedding	Marianela Freites	Phyllis Poehlmann	- Tie - Capri Garrand Naoko Kawakita
Wire Work	Albina Manning	Kelly Lisko	Amie L Mattress

Due to the limited number of entries in the acrylic and/or resin bead category, this category was not judged. The entries submitted in this category were given consideration in the next closest fitting category. Thank you for your understanding.

This year's winners will receive Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Gift Certificates in the following amounts:

Gold Grand Prize Winner: $1,000.00
Silver Grand Prize Winner: $750.00
Bronze Grand Prize Winner: $500.00

Gold Medal Category Winner: $100.00
Silver Medal Category Winner: $75.00
Bronze Medal Category Winner: $50.00

Congratulations again! Thank you to all the talented designer-artists who participated in this year's Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Annual Beading Contest. View the new contest format and entry guidelines for the upcoming Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' contests.

For over 36 years, Fire Mountain Gems and Beads has been known for their exceptional customer service and product selection--over 116,000 hot jewelry-making supplies available to wholesalers, retailers and designer-artists alike. Order your free copy of the Jewelry Maker's Catalog or browse a full year's worth of catalogs online with the catalog flipper for all the fun of the catalog with the ease of the web!