WOW!: Telluride designers triumph in New Zealand

28 Sep WOW!: Telluride designers triumph in New Zealand

In Telluride, around the globe, who doesn't like a feel-good story about the triumph of the underdog, especially in times like these, when underdogs are really under the weather – and almost everybody is an underdog. That's why movies like "Breaking Away," "Rocky" and "Strictly Ballroom" get standing ovations even from the most jaundiced audience.

So Telluride, let's hear it for the girls: a local fiber artist and a local sculptor are winners at the World of Wearable Art Awards Show in New Zealand. But we will let Amy Jean Boebel and Sue Hobby tell it in their own words. See next page.

Note: Their garments were flashed on the screen at the International Media Breakfast.

Designing Women: Telluriders Boebel and Hobby win big

Friday was spent wandering around Wellington, down to the Cuba district to look at vintage stores and to Pravda, a Russian restaurant for lunch. Designers all gathered before the awards show that night at a bar to drink away our anxieties.  

We sat down with another bottle of bubbly and glasses and watched the show for a second time.  After it was over, the awards presentation began.  It lasted all of 45 minutes. In the end, " Screen Play," our three garments, got two awards.  

The first award, "Highly Commended"  in the Gen-i Creative Excellence Fold category, amounts to a 3rd place slot out of 29 amazing garments.  The second prize was "Runner-up" for the American Express Wellington International Award.  Thirty-seven international design teams from the Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, the USA, the UK, and Canada participated with 47 garments in this category, and so the honor was particularly thrilling given such intense competition – and many of these designers were veterans of WOW.

This year's international judge was a Mr Tsai Kang Yung, Taiwan’s top television presenter. Mr Tsai's face is seen on TV shows and blogs followed by millions of people in Mainland China and Taiwan each week.

When our names were called, we ran up to the stage, hugged everyone and dashed back to our seats. The whole thing remains  kind of a blur. The evening ended with an after party.  Next morning, we attended the International Media Breakfast and Judges Forum, where we said goodbye to our new friends from all over the world.  

We are now in rainy Nelson, NZ, after taking a ferry across Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton and then driving.  The World of Wearable Art Show originally began in Nelson, but five years ago the event became too big for this modest city and moved to its current home in Wellington.  However, WOW is still headquartered in Nelson, and so yesterday we went to see the museum which showcased many of last year's winning garments.  

We will be back in Telluride on October 1st, ready to celebrate with everyone, who helped get us here! Thanks to all

Amy and Sue