Benchpeg Guest Judges for Vanilla Ink's Project C/O/N/N/E/C/T

Project C/O/N/N/E/C/T sits in a trifecta of online offerings, including ‘Big Answers With Scott (BAWS)’, a weekly topic-led Q&A session with Scott himself, and ‘INKapacitated Sessions’, a weekly Facebook Live session with an alternating focus on wax carving and saw-piercing. Project C/O/N/N/E/C/T is a weekly design competition, hosted by Vanilla Ink, that gets creative juices flowing by providing an imaginary client brief, letting designers get creative and run with their ideas.

Project C/O/N/N/E/C/T is a weekly design competition, hosted by Vanilla Ink, that gets creative juices flowing by providing an imaginary client brief, letting designers get creative and run with their ideas.

This week, the client was a ‘G.Thunberg’, you might have heard of her? The fierce climate-change awareness campaigner was commissioning a ring to be worn as a reminder of the importance of her work and inspire her to keep going. The brief also touched upon Greta’s autism as a source of inspiration, citing that the ring should be symbolic of her belief that autism is her superpower. 

Vanilla Ink collected each entry, along with their supporting documents and passed these over to us anonymously. The Benchpeg team were astounded by the extraordinary work and talent that went into the entries, and carefully reviewed each over a video

conference.

The decision, headed up by our Editor Rebecca Van Rooijen, was that we would choose a first, second and third place, as well as a commendation to recognise the various merits of the entries.

Commendation - Sarah Anderson

Why we loved it:

We were particularly impressed with (Number 9): ‘Man’s Impact on the Environment’. We loved the use of texture and symbolisation.

Third Place - Jane Frost

Why we loved it:

We were very impressed with the concept, themes and thought process behind (Number 12): ‘The natural harmony of the 4 elements’. We liked that the concept was elevated on many levels and its wasn’t a simplistic interpretation of the brief. With work and refinement, this could be a fantastic hero piece.

Second Place - Lorna Romanenghi

Why we loved it:

We loved the aesthetic of this design. The hidden meaning and dual concept. The deeper thought process behind the wearer and their personal drivers. Also the use of mixed materials. A brilliant design.

First Place - Jen Cunningham

Why we loved it:

This design immediately has visual impact by way of its striking design and is definitely a conversation piece. The Benchpeg team thought that the consideration toward the user and the personalisation of the ring stood out. We loved the multi-level use of sensory texture and the concept of a ‘superpower’. This design hit all the right tick boxes for us, and stood out as the overall winner. It’s a brilliant design and has a compelling concept, thought process and considered manufacturing processes and materials, as you would expect for this particular individual. We loved that it was designed to be ‘as low impact as possible’. Well done!

In a time where mundanity seems to be a recurring theme, it was refreshing to see new and inspiring design work. It is also promising to see many taking on new challenges with such vigor.

We would like to thank the entrants and the wider jewellery community for being a constant source of inspiration and positivity; as well as the Vanilla Ink team for allowing us to be part of this fantastic initiative. 

For more information about Project C/O/N/N/E/C/T, Big Answers With Scott and INKapacitated Sessions, visit: vanillainkstudios.co.uk or follow Scott and Vaniila Ink on Instagram.