ENTRIES FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL CHD DESIGN COMP

HAVE NOW CLOSED!

From April 1st Until April 30th!

The competition launched in 2020 and it was an absolute rip roarer.

The concept had legs, but what you all delivered far outweighed what we were expecting.

The second year, in 2021... Was another blatant belter. The quality ramped up to an intimidating level. 

Now, 2022. Let's have it. 

...is it?

It is a jewellery design competition - in which entrants will design a Sterling Silver Ring OR the new addition of the Pendant division!

Anything from standard signet styles with designed engravings, logos or emblems, stone rings, right through to sculptural pieces.
It was originally slated for later this year, but we felt there was no better time than now to dust off the Faber Castells, peel back the surgical glove and starting designing your RING! 

...do you enter?

The Design Concept will be entered with images, sketches and/or explanations of the thought behind the piece. 

If you can't draw - no worries at all, just compile a bunch of images that portray the concept. 
See Cooper's above, for an example of a great custom design break down.
It should include:

• A design name
• The ring shape/style
• Any and all designs and engravings - including side details
• Your own personal hallmark - which can be a small symbol, signature or emblem to represent you as a designer.

Then give us a break down of the piece in a PDF or scribbled on the back of a ciggie packet. It's the concept that counts. It's not an art competition...

 
You'll then enter your submission through a form online (we'll keep you posted on this). 

YOU CAN ENTER AS MANY DESIGNS AS YOU LIKE!

HINTS:

1. We love hidden detail & meaning. Don't neglect the inner band engravings. 
2. If you are using text, make sure to include fonts.
3. Use example of our rings to show the design shape/style.

...would you bother?

Besides stretching out the creative banjo-string and the numbing few weeks you'll have in self-isolation... The winner will have their piece produced and listed online for an exclusive short run, (in which you will take design royalty on). A runner-up design will also be chosen and produced for the second place designer. 

(Conor's royalties from his winning design that was sold exclusively for one month)

...is it?

Entries will open APRIL 1st and close on the 30TH

The winners will be drawn by the team at CHD. Throughout the competition term, we will be posting images of the designs to gauge appeal, which will influence the final decision. We did originally want to do a voting system, however we didn't want this to be overrun by some stray sweetheart with 100k followers voting in their pig meat design. 

 

 

Let's have a big focus on the "HOW"...

We thought we'd take the time here to spec out some of the important finer elements of the Design Comp.

It should include;

1. A design name 
2. The shape/style
3. Any and all engravings, including side details
4. Your own personal hallmark

THE DESIGN NAME

Something that I wouldn't have previously recommended to give much focus too. However, last year, it strangely had a lot of clout. Not overly in the judgement of who won, but it was just cool to see how many people really attached themselves and their vote to the design's name. 

So give this some good thought. 

Last years, 'Ya mums ring' garnered a bit of support... Which I am assuming was from the name alone. 

SHAPE & STYLE

There are three main styles that you should approach with. 

1. Traditional Signet.

This is the approach of having a specific standard signet shape (Oval, Cushion etc.) that incorporates a standard engraving. 

When choosing this approach, consider the design itself and which signet shape best suits the artwork. Don't neglect the sides! 

With words like 'standard' and 'traditional', it's easy to fob this approach off. But in all honesty, it's hard to beat. They're timeless and the designs are also very recognisable. 
 

2. Sculptural 

This approach is where the design itself, is actually the entire ring. Such as our Konig Skull ring. Think 'sculptures' and the 3D feel to the entire piece.

3. 'Mixed' 

As it says on the tin... This mixes both sculptural elements and standard signet shapes. We can't look past last years winning design, Prosperity, which takes on this design style.

Yon don't need to deliberate on these styles too much. As it is the design concept that will get you across the line, but if it really supports the design, let us know!

 
WHAT FINGER?

When designing the ring, its worth considering 'what finger' this is intended for. This is what we will generally do when designing. ESPECIALLY if it's a pinky ring.

So, here are some hints;

Pinky;
The outside small finger is the ideal placement for the traditional styled signets. Works very well with flush sitting oval designs and pieces with side detail.

Ring;
As the name suggests, this is your 'ring finger'. It wears most rings designs well, especially those traditional designs; cushion, round & rectangular signets.

Middle;
The centre finger loves symmetry and sold bold design. It wears circular and square shapes well, especially with a central feature, such as a stone or notable design.

Index;
The index finger enjoys similar designs as the middle finger. Both can accommodate larger bolder designs, as well as the index wearing side detail well - as it can be viewed on the hand.

Engravings & Designs

 This element to the design comp is fairly self explanatory. But let me add a few things... 

You don't need to overthink the design; remember its not an art competition! It can be simple and just timeless. We found last year that a lot of people just resonated with some designs - as also, they will potentially have the opportunity to wear the ring that you designed. Therefore, the fat lady next to a bowl of fruit or a pack of dogs wearing sunglasses playing poker, painted in oil on canvas, may get you behind a velvet rope, but not far in the signet ring comp... 

THE DEVILS IN THE DETAIL...

There's thousands of master ideas for rings, believe me. We have always found that customers focal point often goes to those unique little hidden details. 

Keep that in mind after you slap Mona Lisa on the face of signet... 

This may included some text engraved on the inside. Or a small symbol, that pulls the design together.

YOUR OWN PERSONAL HALLMARKS

This is an important aspect to the design. 

It will include;
- The alloy ("925" for Sterling Silver).
- "2021" for the year it was cast. 
- "SYD" for where it was cast
And, your own personal hallmark. 

It can be a small signature or symbol. Get creative with this. Think, how can you as the designer be denoted in the ring?

 
"MAKER'S MARK"

One area of the Design Comp that has been given far more attention and respect than I first anticipated, is the inclusion of the 'Hallmark' or 'Maker's Mark'.

So to give the breakdown again, of the essentials of a Design Comp submission;

1. A Design Name

2. The Ring Shape/Style

3. Any and All Designs & Engravings

4. Your own personal hallmark or more accurately 'Maker's Mark' - which identifies you you as a designer. This will be a small stamp on the inside of the ring, next to the other hallmarks (such as 925 for Sterling Silver). 

It's become the unintentional Design Comp within the Design Comp. From the first year to the second, the concepts and style of hallmarks ramped up 10 fold. Some of which, you'd be happy slapping on the face of the signet, as they looked so good. 

Some further detail...

It represents you as the designer, which we'd recommend doing one of two ways;

- Your initials or condensed signature. Your initials are usually written in a monogram style or unique way.

- Or a small symbol or emblem. 

_______________

MORE TO THE POINT; HOW do I enter? 

Enter through the Form button at the top or bottom of this page (which will be made available on April the 1st). 

It can be submitted as;

- A PDF document
- Just a photo or scan of a page
- Or, it can be just a long winded description, with a piss-weak drawing on the back of a ciggie pack 

YOU CAN ENTER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU'D LIKE!

The Design Comp is NOW LIVE.

Enter your design through the button above or at the bottom of the page.

From April 1st Until April 30th!

As CHD Bespoke is a huge part of our brand, we are able to attain some great design insight on what our customer base loves. 

 A common design that is commissioned, are the Family Signets. Whether the intaglio style, which print into wax, as the original purpose of signet rings. Or the 'sunken positive' style, in which the crest and shield are sculpturally visual on the design. This always garner a fair bit of hype, with others asking as to where or how they can purchase the design. 

We have to explain that this is specific to the the customers family and obviously we can't remake this for them. 

If you're like me, you weren't blessed with a really slick family crest and shield design and that's always bugged you... In particular, the Scottish Clan Crests and Belt designs. These things pump. 

Whenever one of these are posted through our social, the flare heats up and some dog-shit fake Scottish accents are cough out, with the hope of being worthy to run one of these designs. 

In the old country, there would surely be a punishment for wearing another family's signet on your paws. It would likely be something tweaked like, '99 lashes over the knuckles, with the frozen tail of an ox'. You know, that's what they're always like.

So let us provide you with an option to bypass that shame and open the heritage gates to the CHD Family, with the CHD Clan Crest & Signet design. 

Our rendition of the Scottish Clan Crests. The family signets from Scottish heritage, would have these amazing coat of arms, with the family crest, motto and there would generally be framed in the distinct 'belt'.

Through all of our Bespoke Designs, we often have the Scottish family signets commissioned, which would always generate a lot of excitement, only to be smothered by the fact the piece was a custom, and not for sale. 

So we then understood, we needed a CHD Family Signet ring. Designed with key elements of the CHD community.

Welcome, the CHD Clan Crest design. With the original "Epoch Two" emblem in the centre, a Wreath to pay homage to the first ever design from CHD, the familiar design element of the rope, then the inscription, The Howlet Epoch - meaning The Howlet Chapter. 

THE CLAN CREST SIGNETS

THE CLAN CREST BAND

Every week we want to shine a light on a specific design. Maybe we feel it isn't getting the love it deserves or maybe we feel we haven't sufficiently broken down the design concept... Either way, here's some designer insight on what went into The Howlet Signet.

The Howlet Signet was the first of our 'branded style' rings, featuring the CHD original logo design. As the designer, I have felt that we needed to earn this style of ring. Early on, we were humble jewellery hustlers with no brand recognition and to me it seemed pompous or arrogant to slap your logo onto a ring and expect people to buy into the concept of 'Crooked Howlet Designs'. This could have been completely wrong in all your eyes, however I believe early on that the primary goal needed to be to deliver on the best possible designs without trying to fall back on that non-existent brand image. 

I think we earned this one now... 

Along with the original Owl logo, there is an inscription around the face, "Lizard's Leg & Howlet's Wing'. This is from the Shakespearian play in which the name Howlet (meaning Owl), was derived.  

The piece has undergone some tweaks since it's first launch. The final touch which I believe has brought the design into a new realm, was a thickening up of the gold wreaths. The wreaths weren't pronounced enough in the first version, now, they pop.  

Its hard to call this early on, what will become a 'staple' piece of CHD. But I think this could be it... Enjoy. 

See now; The Howlet Signet

- Ryan.