I blogged awhile back about the Halstead Bead Business Grant, and they are now announcing the jewelry designer whom they award the grant to:

"Halstead Bead, Inc. is proud to announce the winner of the company’s first annual business grant competition for bridge jewelry designers: Ananda Khalsa Jewelry of Providence, RI. Ananda Khalsa designs incorporate tiny original paintings into sterling silver jewelry. Her work is inspired by Asian art and natural forms. Each piece is designed to communicate a quiet grace as well as rich cultural symbolism. The jewelry features clean lines and simple elegance, while maintaining evidence of the human hand. Her work can be found at www.anandakhalsa.com.

Halstead Bead began offering the grant this year as an annual prize to a bridge jewelry designer who launched their business within the last three years. The award differs from most competitions in the trade because judging is equally based on both jewelry design acumen and the artists’ business skills & strategies. “We have seen many talented artists come and go in this industry because they focused only on their product lines without sufficiently nurturing their business strategies and operations,” said Scott. Therefore, the firm developed the prize to recognize well-rounded jewelry designers and to encourage all members of the trade to hone their finance and marketing skills along with their casting and wire-working skills.

The Halstead Bead Business Grant for Bridge Jewelry Designers is an annual competition. Details on the award and all of this year’s top 10 finalists can be found at www.halsteadbead.com/grant. The deadline for next year’s competition will be in June 2007."