Success for UCA Rochester at Pewter Awards!

The University for the Creative Arts at Rochester had their best ever set of results recently at the prestigious Pewter Live Awards, which honour the country's top pewter designers and craftspeople.

Third-year SGJ student, Richard Gamester, won the Decorative Arts category for a collection of pewter condiment pourers encased in Finnish soapstone and said: 

"It means a lot to win this award as I have worked hard throughout my course, so this recognition makes it all worth the effort.

"As a designer/craftsperson, winning awards is very important to help you make a name for yourself and get noticed, so I hope this award will kick-start my career when I leave university next year."

In the Interior, Architectural and Furniture category, Rochester took 1st and 3rd places, with the first prize of £500 going to Sanni Falkenberg, who designed a unique set of pewter plant pots which create a piece of living art, with Tyra-Jane Ward taking third prize for an innovative magnetic key dome. They were split by a UCA student from the Farnham campus, Melina Xenaki, with her Picasso-inspired pewter chessboard table and set.

Rochester's Victoria Freeman, who designed an intricate, pewter embellished masquerade mask, came third in the Student Fashion category.

Brian Hill, course leader of BA (Hons) Silversmithing, Goldsmithing & Jewellery (SGJ) at UCA Rochester, said: "We have been participating in Pewter Live for nearly ten years and, although we have enjoyed successes in previous years, this was definitely our strongest and best set of results to date.

"I am absolutely thrilled with the breadth and depth of achievement from our students and it is a ringing endorsement that our crafts courses at UCA have the ability to positively respond to external live projects and creatively interpret design briefs into successful 3D pieces that are positively endorsed from the respective profession."