Bridgman Teak Chair Competition - Results Announced

Posted by Bridgman on May 3, 2013

Just over a month ago we decided to run a competition to decorate a plain Bridgman Teak Chair. We're passionate about Arts, Crafts and DIY projects and we knew that there were many talented people that share this same interest. After scouring Etsy & Folksy for the best British talent we could find, we picked 8 artists and invited them to enter a competition to win a garden furniture set worth £500 . The guidelines were simple; each contestant had around 4 weeks to complete and return the chair and they had to chose from one of the following topics: - Nature - Texture and colour - Warmth of woods and sleek of metal - Going Green   After we had collected all of the chairs we decided to do the voting in two parts; office and social media votes - your votes. The office votes took place within the first 2-3 days and the social voting lasted 10 days, starting from June 10th. Voting ended at 8:00 am this morning, June 20th, leaving us with a Winner!  

Winner - Clair Pritchard

Clair Pritchard was the one who managed to get the most votes from social media and the office voting too. Clair mentioned in her contest bio that she was really excited about the opportunity given to her to enter the competition. Her inspiration for the design of the chair came from Pantone's Colour of 2013 - Emerald green. She used some pictures of one of her favorite artists, Tamara De Lempicka, as she thought they would tie in with the art deco 'Gatsby' theme. She was spot on. Clair had studied fashion design, upholstery and jewellery design and she runs her own stores on ebay, Etsy and craft fairs.  

Christine M Edwards

Christine M Edwards was a very close runner up finishing 2nd in the office vote as well as 2nd in the social media voting. The attention to detail of her chair was beautiful. In her words: "the ladybirds look like they are about to fly out from the chair or flying from daisy to daisy." That effect was definitely felt by both the office staff and the online community. Christine has an Etsy Shop and if you are interested in her design, you ought to check it out.  

Denise Payne

Denise Payne finished in an interesting 3rd spot. Her design was very ambitious and stood out from the rest of them as she incorporated a 3D effect adding a birdhouse and butterflies among other things. Denise Payne came 3rd overall after being placed 5th in the Office Vote and 4th place in the social media votes. Denise said her inspiration came from her "longing for summer to arrive". I think we can all agree on that. If you liked Denise's chair, she has many beautiful things to offer on her Etsy shop.  

Melanie La Rocque

At 4th place we have ourselves a tie (although both chairs have a very different story). Melanie La Rocque's chair featured a very intricate weaving on the back rest & also came with a beautiful bespoke cushion. During the office voting, one member of staff commented "this one has to be number one for me, its the only one with a cushion!!''. The result was a beautiful decorated chair which landed Melanie in 4th spot. Melanie's shop is full of lovely looking things - you should have a browse.  

Sandrine Tabary Chaigne

Also at 4th we have Sandrine Tabary Chaigne. The detail on the this chair is just astonishing. Sandrine used a vibrant blue paint and intricately decorated each of the seat rails by hand. The chair was appreciated by the office and online community alike. Sandrine has an etsy shop full of beautifully decorated buttons and jewellery, you should take a look.  

Jen Beeston

Now moving on to the 6th place - we have Jen Beeston's striking chair. Jen's chair was a particular favourite in the office ranking 3rd. Jen told us that her "aim for the chair was to make it bold, striking and most importantly a bit odd... and something that would make somebody feel uneasy about sitting on it." On the the back of the chair the writing reads "watch where you sit". Jen has a lovely Folksy shop (Jen's shop) full of stylish and unusual artwork.  

Richard Cole

At 7th we have the only male contestant of this competition: Richard Cole. The abstract artwork on this chair still flows whether the chair is open or folded closed. The design is based on Richard's "spring" series of paintings. He said "these little flowers have braved the bitter cold to bring the early spring colour to my garden which lifted my spirits.  

Bell Thallon Leitch

Last but definitely not least, a surprise 8th place for me, is Bell Thallon Leitch. The design of the chair was very neat and includes pages of the book ''The Secret Garden". The vibrant pink, coupled with the butterfly's give this chair a very fresh and summery feel. Bell masterfully combined several different decorating techniques resulting in a vibrant and fun chair. Bell also has a beautiful Etsy shop that you should all take a look at.     Here are the votes:

We would like to take a moment to thank all of our contestants. We were absolutely thrilled with all of your designs - each and every chair had something different to offer. We thoroughly enjoyed running this competition and would like to congratulate Clair Pritchard for winning the prize.   All of the entries can also be found on our Pinterest board here: competition entries