ABOUT MAKER OF THE YEAR 2023

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

The Maker of the Year Awards encourage talented and innovative woodworkers from Australia and around the world and offer a prize pool of $18,000, including $9,750 cash. The Top 100 entries will be showcased in a special edition of Wood Review in December 2023.

In the interim make sure you follow our Facebook and Instagram pages where selected works from the competition will continue to be showcased leading up to the announcement of shortlistings and award winners. Sign up to our free fortnightly eNews to receive competition updates.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

Now in their fourth year, Wood Review's Maker of the Year Awards, presented by Carbitool, encourage and promote talented and innovative woodworkers from Australia, New Zealand and around the world. Maker of the Year is the only online and print showcase for fine woodworking of its kind in the world.

The awards are judged by a panel of leading Australian and international designer makers and craftspeople. In 2023 we're offering a prize pool worth $18,000, including $9,500 in cash.

The competition closes on Monday 4 September 2023 and culminates with the announcement of the winners at woodreview.com.au and the publication of a special Maker of the Year issue of Australian Wood Review magazine in December 2023.

Wood Review's December 2022 issue featured the Top 100 entries from Maker of the Year 2022.

WHO CAN ENTER?

Entry is open to amateur, professional and student woodworkers.

The 'World' and 'Recycled & Rescued' categories are open to makers from around the world. Australian makers may enter the World and Recycled & Rescued categories.

The other four categories (Art & Objects; Chests, Cabinets & Boxes; Tables, Chairs & Desks; and Student) are open to residents of Australia only.

The ‘Student’ category is open to those enrolled in secondary or tertiary education or private school classes in 2022/2023. Please indicate if you are a Secondary or Tertiary student when you enter. Separate prizes will be awarded for the best secondary student entry and the best tertiary student entry.

The 'Overall Winner' will be selected from one of the winners of the following categories: Art & Objects; Chests, Cabinets & Boxes; Tables, Chairs & Desks and Student. Entrants in the World and Recycled & Rescued categories are not eligible to be Overall Winner.

WHAT CAN YOU ENTER?

Your entry must be made mainly from wood, however other materials may be incorporated.

Projects submitted for the Awards must have been completed after 30 June 2021.

Entries submitted in previous year’s competitions (Maker of the Year Awards 2021 and 2022) may not be entered in this year's competition (Maker of the Year Awards 2023).

You may enter as many times, and in as many categories, as you like. You may also enter the same piece in different categories if you wish.

PRICING AND DEADLINES

Maker of the Year Awards, presented by Carbitool, are open until Monday 4 September 2023 (11:59pm, AEDT).

ALL CATEGORIES, EXCEPT STUDENT

$49 (21 August to 4 September 2023)

STUDENT CATEGORY
$25 (21 August to 4 September 2023)

Price is per entry (includes five images per project). All prices are in Australian dollars (AUD). (AUD$49 is approximately US$32, £25, or €29.)

ENTRY PREPARATION

Quality images will best show your piece – good lighting and focus are important; look for simple backgrounds. Your entry images should include full and key detail views. The judges will also look at your entry description – describe your design concept, materials and techniques in 200 words or so.

For each category you must submit 5 images of the final project.
Image format: Images must be in JPEG (.jpg) or PNG (.png) format
Image dimensions: Ideally images should be 2700px, or more, on the longest edge.
Image file size: Individual image file size must be no larger than 5MB.
Image file names should not include unusual characters such as !, @, ", ', #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ), ©, etc. These characters can result in images not uploading properly. Hyphens (-) and underscores (_) are fine.
Images should not include watermarks, branding or text.
You may enter multiple categories, and/or the same category multiple times.

OPTIONAL VIDEO LINK

Entrants have the option to submit a link to a video/reel “tour” of their entry, suggested length is no longer than 45 seconds. The link can be sent via DM (direct message) to Wood Review's Instagram or Facebook pages (preferred), or emailed to moty@woodreview.com.au. Content should be unbranded, without text or graphic overlays. Videos will not be used in the judging process, but may be used to showcase a particular entry on woodreview.com.au or Wood Review’s Facebook or Instagram pages. Submitting a video link is optional and not required to enter Maker of the Year.

JUDGES

Maker of the Year will be judged by a panel of leading woodworkers and designers. Judges will be announced in July 2023.

RECOGNITION

Winners, runners-up, and finalist entries in each category will be recognised in the December 2023 issue of Australian Wood Review magazine. A parallel announcement will be made at www.woodreview.com.au at the end of November 2023.

In December 2023, entrants will receive a pdf award (similar to the one pictured) via e-mail, confirming their placing (Participation, Commended, Highly Commended, Top 100, runners-up and category winners) in the competition.

MADE A MISTAKE?

Don't worry, we've got you covered. If you've uploaded the incorrect image, entered the wrong category, or you're just not sure what to do, drop us an e-mail explaining the problem and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.