2009 Niche finalists announced

Niche magazine announced the finalists for its 2009 Niche Awards competition in the professional division. The annual awards program recognizes the outstanding creative achievements of North American craft artists who produce work for craft galleries and retail shops. Jurors selected 149 finalists out of more than 1,000 entries in 34 categories.

The finalists’ work will be on display Feb. 13-16 at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft. Winners will be revealed Feb. 15 at a ceremony.

Finalists in the wood categories are:

Carved: Milo R. Mirabelli of Mirabelli Designs, Port Orchard, Wash.; Terry Evans of Spiritwood, Overland Park, Kan.; Will Tait, Portola Valley, Calif.;Kimberly Winkle of Kimberly Winkle Designs, Smithville, Tenn.

Painted/Colored: Danny Kamerath, Dallas; Wendy Grossman of Studio 78, Phoenicia, N.Y.; Meg Romero of Meg Romero Studio, Cumberland, Md.; Avner Zabari, Miami.

Traditionally Joined: Andrew Pitts of Andrew Pitts FurnitureMaker, Heathsville, Va.; Seth Rolland of Seth Rolland Custom Furniture, Port Townsend, Wash.; Damon McIntyre of DMc Custom Design Studio, Gatlinburg, Tenn.; Mark Whitley of Whitley Limited Edition Furniture, Smiths Grove, Ky.

Turned: John Goodyear of Joyear Studio, Torbay, Newfoundland; Malcolm Zander of JMZ Woodworking, Ottawa, Ontario; Jim Lorriman of Bits & Pieces Studio, Shelburne, Ontario; Steve Hilton, Wichita Falls, Texas; William Luce, Renton, Wash.

For information, visit www.americancraft.com.