UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 10 MAY 2017
BA (Hons) Jewellery and Silversmithing - Design for Industry student, Maggie Lin Jung-Hsuan, won the Ingle & Rhode’s 2017 Fairtrade Gold Design Award for Undergraduates. The awards are designed to recognise up-and-coming talent within the jewellery design industry.
After hundreds of entries from budding designs across the UK, Maggie was shortlisted for the prize alongside four students including fellow BCU student Kate Hadden. After receiving support from friends and family, Maggie topped the public’s vote and received her prize at the Fair Luxury 2017 conference.
Maggie said afterwards:
The ring Maggie designed was inspired by the eternal love synonymous with Taj Mahal and its mesmerising architecture including the overall curve and the symmetry. The design incorporated the ivory white colour of Taj Mahal and the reflection of boundless sky on its water, using small diamonds providing an illusion of brilliance and fire.
"There has been an unbelievable amount of talent during all stages of the awards this year and we’re so glad the public got behind the finalists to show their support. We all know how daunting it is when starting out in a career or at university so by having that backing from the public means a lot to the applicants.” Said Tim Ingle, co-founder at Ingle & Rhode. Tim also runs the Fairtrade Gold Design Awards.
The use of Fairtrade gold provides the opportunity for small-scale miners and their communities with better living and working conditions in developing countries. The Ingle & Rhode 2017 Fairtrade Gold Design Award helps to raise the awareness of this amongst jewellery students, apprentices and those beginning their career in jewellery.