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Contest

The Uncommon Life

Pin the Halls Holiday Pinterest Contest

November 16, 2012

Do you decorate your home to perfection each holiday season? Are invites to your holiday party as anticipated as the first winter snowfall? Have you been scouring Pinterest for some winter inspiration (winspiration? no, that was horrible) to out shine last year’s holiday performance?

Enter the Pin the Halls contest by creating a winter wonderland board for a chance to win a $250 gift card to UncommonGoods. That’s a lot of gifts!


Leave the link to your Pin the Halls board in the comments below or on the original pin in our It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like… board and you’ll be entered to win.

We’ll announce the winner on November 30 on the blog. How much that person wins is up to you. For every 50 entries we see, we’ll add $50 to the grand prize, up to a total of $250. So after you share your board with us, be sure to tell your friends and family to enter too!

Follow us on Pinterest for more updates, and leave a link to your profile in the comments.

Good luck and happy pinning. We can’t wait to see your decked-out boards!

You must be 18 years of age to enter. Deadline is November 30, 2012 11:59AM EST. Sorry, this contest is only open to those living in the US.

UPDATE Congrats to our winner, Zillie Zallie! Visit out blog next week to see what we loved about her board.

The Uncommon Life

Guess the Cover Facebook Giveaway

October 16, 2012

The UncommonGoods Holiday catalog was just sent out and should be on doorsteps by the end of the week. We are so excited for this holiday season and for you to see our favorite items that we want to play a guessing game. One lucky Facebook fan will win the item on the cover of our holiday catalog. What is it? We’re not telling!

The Contest
On October 16, 17 and 18 we will post a different clue on our Facebook Timeline about the mystery item on our catalog cover.

Leave a comment on the clue with your guess.

You can only leave one comment per clue, but can comment on all three!

On Friday, October 19 one winner who has guessed correctly will be announced and contacted.

Open to US citizens in the 50 states.
Must be 18 years or older to enter.

The Uncommon Life

The Winning Board in the Cooking Local Pinterest Contest

October 5, 2012

We swear our pants got tighter just looking at the entries to our Cooking Local Pinterest Contest. We asked you all to combine fabulous food and hometown pride in a Pinterest board showing your favorite things to cook and eat where you live, and you delivered bigtime. Big, as in, we’re going to need bigger pants soon.

Lori Smart’s board highlighted some of Eugene, Oregon’s superfoods: salmon, blueberries, chard, wine, and beer (don’t tell us that Sweet Cheeks Chardonnay and Ninkasi Believer Double Red Ale don’t look super). It’s kind of a shame that Eugene Beliebers are, no doubt, too young for Believer.

The pins collected by Greenville, NC’s Allyson Rideout featured some racy southern food items generally not seen here in NYC: cheesecake that drinks creme de menthe, shrimp and grits all hot for each other, peanuts reverting to their base legume-y natures, and various flaming meats. Heavens to Betsy! We had to fan ourselves while ogling this board.

On to Melanie Feigl of Spokane, WA. Melanie! Why, oh why, did you torture us with your pins of delectable fresh-baked cupcakes, huckleberry cake donuts, and even better worse, beer-battered onion rings? Have mercy, woman! We are only human! Not to mention how you filled us with envy; Spokane has a restaurant with a ceiling made of two humongous stained-glass peacocks, and a diner that’s a converted rail car. We have zero of those in New York.

Like our runner-ups, winner Katie Selman of Tampa, FL made us salivate. Scallops in gumbo and polenta, or paired with roasted squash. Florida orange cake and cookies. All yummy.

But seriously, Katie, how do you expect us to look at the following without breaking down sobbing?

1) Reese’s Peanut Butter Banana Bread

2) “The Brewski” cupcake (“moist chocolate cake marinated in Maduro Brown Ale, blended with chocolate ganache filling, topped with whipped Kahlua icing, garnished with chocolate and toffee bits”)

3) “The Pumpkin Bomb” (“similar to an Irish Car Bomb, “ this lethal-sounding beverage combines Cigar City Brewing’s “Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale, brewed with Ceylon cinnamon, Jamaican all-spice, Zanzibar cloves and nutmeg, with a shot of Baileys Irish Cream and Pinnacle Whip (whipped cream flavored vodka), sprinkled with cinnamon”).

Through our tears, we managed to note how artfully Katie put her images together, a collection ranging from fifties vintage Florida orange juice, to a palm tree scene made entirely of Florida fruit, to funky local street signs. They were diverse, and yet all conveyed the Florida theme, including the UncommonGoods products she chose, like our Rowboat Salad Bowl, our Toast Glasses filled with orange juice, Cantaloupe Bowls, and Spanish Sangria Pitcher.

Join the foodie lovefest by checking out these fabulous Pinterest boards, and help us congratulate winner Katie!

The Uncommon Life

Cooking Local Pinterest Contest

September 21, 2012

Do you look to your favorite pinner when it’s time to make dinner? Are you always hungry to share your love for your city or state? Then our latest Pinterest contest is for you. We’re combining fabulous food and hometown pride in the UncommonGoods Cooking Local Contest.

Cook up your best board and leave a link and an email address in the comments below and/or on the original pin in our Cooking Local board and you’ll be entered to win an UncommonGoods prize package featuring designs from CatStudio.

The package includes a Hand-embroidered Pillow, a Geography Apron, and a Geography Towel. We’ll announce the winner on Friday, October 5 on our blog.

Follow us on Pinterest for more updates. Good luck and happy pinning!

 

Entries must be received by midnight on Thursday, October 4.

Open to US citizens only.

Design

Bike Lovers Design Challenge Call for Entries

September 12, 2012


We are hosting a call for entries for our newest and most exciting design challenge, the Bike Lovers Design Challenge, until September 15th at midnight. Send us your jewelry, accessories, gadgets, doo-dads and gizmos that could make their way into the hearts of any cycling enthusiast or weekend cruiser.

If you have a product that is geared towards our latest challenge, check out the full contest rules and submit your designs here!

Maker Stories

Meet Kim Jakum, Jewelry Design Challenge Winner

August 17, 2012

Each and every design challenge gives us the exciting opportunity to meet up-and-coming artists, reconnect with our favorite designers, and open our eyes to new and unique works of art. Coming off the success of the 2011 Jewelry Design Challenge, we simply could not wait to hold another call for jewelry entries. This year’s Jewelry Design Challenge brought in over 100 entries and showcased the unique designs of artists, jewelry designers, and metalworkers.

Our judges worked through designs with bold patterns, fascinating stories, and unique mediums. They decided on pieces they thought would capture America’s eye with their delicate beauty and others with their intricate detail. But there was one piece that the judges couldn’t take their eyes off of; they loved its concept as a keepsake to keep those you treasure close.


We simply can’t stop talking about the craftsmanship and attention to detail of Personalized Child Signature Necklace and are excited to introduce you to the designer, our Jewelry Design Challenge winner, Kim Jakum of Wisconsin. Kim thrives on designing one-of-a-kind pieces with her recently found love of PMC (precious metal clay) and she will soon be able to see those one-of-a-kind pieces being cherished by people all across the country. Here she is, Kim, the newest member to our Uncommon Artists family.

When and how did you discover jewelry design?

I’ve been making jewelry for over 20 years. I first started making jewelry by just stringing beads. I was drawn to all the different shapes and colors. To this day, I’m still drawn to beautiful stones and the sparkle of crystal.

What is your favorite piece of jewelry?

My favorite piece of jewelry that I have made is my Tiger Maple and Fine Silver Cuff.

How did you realize that metalworking was your passion?

My work is primarily in PMC (precious metal clay). I love that it is made from recycled silver. About 16 years ago, while taking a traditional metal smith class, PMC was first introduced in the USA. The whole class got some and played with it. I didn’t really like it at the time, and didn’t give it any thought until about five years ago when I took a workshop just using PMC. I fell in love with it, and have not looked back since! The possibilities are endless…

What are your favorite pieces to design?

Besides the children’s signatures, I also take kids artwork, shrink it down and transfer it to fine silver pendants and key chains. I love that this makes an everlasting keepsake.

I have also recently been accepted into The Artisan Group. The Artisan Group is made up of small business artisans that gift celebrities with samples of their work. I’m having a great time designing jewelry for specific celebrities.

All in all, you could say that a lot of my work is very personalized, made specifically for the person receiving it.

How do you keep yourself inspired?

I have been fortunate to take workshops from fellow jewelry artists who’s work I really admire. I find these workshops very inspiring, pushing me to continually learn a new skill and perfect what I already know.

How else do you express your creativity?

I like to pass what I know on, so I teach classes in jewelry making and PMC.

Also, if I see something I like in another medium, I usually think I can make something close to it myself, so there are a lot more projects other that jewelry making going on!

What attracted you to the UncommonGoods Jewelry Design Challenge?

I actually found out about this challenge from a fellow Artisan Group member and entered it on a whim.

What was the inspiration behind Personalized Child Signature Necklace?

The signatures on my Personalized Child Signature Necklace sample are actually my grand children’s. I have seen a lot of stamped name pendants and thought I could take that idea to a whole new level by using actual signatures! I also added a twist by texturing the back, so the necklace is reversible.

Do you have any advice for someone interested in taking part in a future challenge?

Just enter! Until this year I have NEVER entered a challenge or competition. I have entered four different challenges this year and have placed first, second or third in three of them!