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HBI Grant Winner:
Ananda Khalsa
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Halstead Bead 2006 Grant Winner
Ananda Khalsa Jewelry
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.
"I am so thrilled and honored...this could not come at a better time," said Khalsa. She will receive
$6,000 in cash and merchandise as part of the grant prize package. She intends to use these funds to
expand her business by hiring production assistants and exhibiting in national wholesale shows.
Khalsa has always been an artist, but only began making jewelry in 2002 when she took a metalsmithing
class in Boulder, CO. She was instantly hooked and enrolled in more classes at the Front Range Community
College and the Clear Creek Academy of Jewelry & Metal Arts while setting up her own studio. In 2004,
Khalsa began focusing on her jewelry as a business and promoting her designs to galleries and stores
around the country.
"We were looking for a fresh designer that had the complete package of design talent and business acumen,"
said Halstead Bead Marketing Director Hilary Scott. "Ananda brings a new style to the jewelry market and
she has the business mind to take her label to the national level and be very successful."
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.
Applicants from all over the United States vied for the grant. Over 100 designers submitted extensive
application packets that included a design portfolio, resume, essay questions and business plans. The
candidates' styles ranged across many distinct types of bridge jewelry and the business strategies
showed a multitude of creative approaches to brand development. "We were extremely pleased with the
response to our first competition and the extraordinary pool of applicants who participated," said Scott.
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.
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