What is the Masters Of Craft Awards?
The Masters Of Craft Awards is a Competition sponsored by Keeneland Mercantile, in partnership with Keeneland Magazine. This Competition recognizes the products of craftsmen or businesses that manufacture or produce a product in the U.S.A. that fits into one of the four (4) Categories:
FOOD & DRINK, HOME GOODS, WEARS & HANDMADE.
We’ll raise a glass to the game-changing distillers, master brewers, and cocktail mixers, and discover refreshing non-alcoholic small-batch sodas, juices, and teas. Whether you’re showcasing century old family recipes, boxing up baked goods or crafting local honey and jams, this is where culinary excellence shines.
Barware, cast iron cookware, kitchen utensils and cutlery, pillows, rugs, and table linens—everything from rustic coffee tables to contemporary leather armchairs — we’re looking for those items that’ll turn a house into a designer’s dream home.
Race-day neckwear or sportcoat? Millinery or a line of handmade jewelry? We want to see your talents! Button downs, watches, scarves, shoes, boots, and alike— we’re looking to celebrate it all.
Hand painted barrel heads, cloisonne ornaments, letterpress printers, painters and artists, ceramics, candlemakers, leather and textile crafters; this is the category for you.
AWARDS OVERVIEW
The Overall Grand Prize Winner will receive $5,000, a physical award, write-up in Keeneland Magazine's Summer 2023 Issue & featured product placement in the Keeneland Mercantile Store and keenelandmercantile.com. The winner will be selected by a panel of judges, based on the criteria described below & will be announced in the Summer Issue of Keeneland Magazine (May 2023).
Each of the four (4) Categories (defined above) will have three (3) Finalists for a total of twelve (12) Finalists. Each of the Finalists will be featured in the Summer 2023 Issue of Keeneland Magazine and mentioned on keenelandmercantile.com
The twelve (12) Finalists will also be eligible to receive the Patrons' Pick Award. This award will be decided through an online public vote, which will take place from March 5th - March 18th. The winner will be announced on March 20, 2023 and will receive $1,000 and a physical award.
HOW TO ENTER: To enter, please visit http://www.keenelandmercantile.com during the Competition Period (January 5th - February 5th), timely submit the required application fee of $50 and complete all of the required fields of the Competition entry form, which will be sent by email after application fee is purchased. As part of completing the Entry Form, you must upload up to four (4) photos of your product. Have any questions? Check out our FAQ page here.
MEET THE JUDGES
BETH LEWIS
Beth Lewis is the owner of Olde Tyme Marketplace, a 5,000sqft. retail store in Madison, Indiana. She caught the entrepreneurial spirit fresh out of high school and opened her first brick and mortar just 6 months after graduation in Ohio. She began designing her own home decor products and created a home party program in addition to running her shop space. Her designs caught the attention of a leading gift company which lead to a five year experience designing gifts and home goods sold in major retailers across the US and Canada. Opening a store front in North Carolina also saw the beginning of creating social media content and branding her business. It was during this time Beth was asked to move her business to its current home of Indiana. She shares design & decor tips as well as thrifting episodes and cooking segments on her social media accounts.
DARREN K. MOORE
Darren K. Moore is a Kentucky native who began painting at a young age, drawing inspiration from the natural environment around him, which included the beauty of the bluegrass horse farms and the exquisite thoroughbreds who reside there. After moving his artistic abilities to the 3D form, Darren began working in the medium of fine jewelry, with clientele from across the globe. His jewelry has been featured at the Kentucky Derby Museum and the Keeneland Shop for 30 years, and he is honored to be the licensed jeweler for The Kentucky Derby® and The Breeders’ Cup®.”
EMILY RIDDLE
Emily Riddle is a designer, business owner, and blogger from Versailles, Kentucky. Her business began as a vintage shop and blog, Miss Molly Vintage, and has evolved to the brick and mortar store and coffee shop, Gathered Mercantile and Amsden Coffee Club, located in Downtown Versailles. Emily is also a decorator for clients local to Central Kentucky and beyond, and she shares her design on her website, Gathered Living. Emily and her husband, Alex, are passionate about historical preservation and downtown revitalization, especially in small towns across Kentucky. Their next project is working to bring an upscale boutique hotel and distillery combo to downtown Versailles. Emily is also a mom to 3 year old, John Woodford.
CHEF LAWRENCE WEEKS
Lawrence Weeks dedicated himself to cooking when he was a child growing up in a Creole/Cajun household in Louisville, Kentucky. His professional career began in 2010. After culinary school, Lawrence worked under James Beard recognized chef Todd Richards in Atlanta, where Richards encouraged him to “find his roots in food.” When Lawrence returned to his home state, he started LocalsOnly: a Louisville pop up that focused on local people, products, and food. After returning from time in Lexington, KY, Weeks is currently heading the kitchen at the much anticipated North of Bourbon in Louisville focusing on deep Southern cuisine with an emphasis on the connection between Louisville and New Orleans.
HEATHER WIBBELS
Heather Wibbels, an award-winning mixologist and Managing Director of Bourbon Women, consults with spirits brands to create content, education and cocktails. Her fascination with whiskey, especially bourbon, lead to her book, Bourbon is My Comfort Food: The Bourbon Women ™ Guide to Fantastic Cocktails at Home. She’s a columnist for Bourbon + and Food & Dining and has been published in numerous whiskey magazines. When she’s not sipping whiskey, or doing cocktail development, you can find her educating about bourbon and whiskey. You can find her website here, and follow her @cocktail_contessa on Instagram.
JUDGING PROCESS
