Special Note: San Diego’s Fine Woodworkers Announce the Deadline for Entries for the 40th Annual Design in Wood (DIW) competition at the San Diego County Fair this Summer is April 28, 2023.
History:
Forty-two years ago, a small group of San Diego’s woodworkers led by Lynn Rybarczyk and Chuck Masters organized SDFWA’s first Design in Wood exhibit at the San Diego County fair.
They were told by the fair that they needed a sponsoring organization to have an exhibit at the fair so they formed the San Diego Fine Woodworking Association, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
Forty-two years later, the 40th Design in Wood competition and exhibition will run June 7 through July 4.
Veteran DIW Coordinator Ed Gladney is busy preparing for the upcoming exhibit, which will be his last as the manager of the exhibit. However, he has a few words he wants to address to the membership.
“Woodworkers submitting their work have many chances to win a prize in the DIW competition– with more than $20,000 in prize money available. There is one big advantage to entering your work in the show. You can put your work in front of an estimated 1 million visitors who attend the fair.”
The competition’s judges will determine the award winners in 26 Classes, with first, second, third and fourth place winners, plus honorable mentions in each class.
The first place award amount is $200, second $175, third $150, fourth $75.
In addition, there are three special awards, many donated awards, and six awards reserved for SDFWA members.
Plus, there are two new awards reserved for SDFWA Shop members for entries in Class 007 – Furniture & Accessories Created by Laser and/or CNC, and Class 015 – Veneering/Marquetry – Art Created by Laser and/or CNC.
Last year, DIW received more than 250 entries, down from the more than 350 entries submitted in pre-pandemic years. We expect more to enter the competition this year than last year—when the fair was recovering from two years of disruption due to Covid and funding problems.
DIW includes the participation of a number of other woodworking clubs, including the San Diego Woodturners, The Regular Cutups Scroll Saw club, The Seaside Scrollers, the Southern California Carving Guild, the San Diego Ship Modelers Guild, as well as a violin making group.
In addition, we are also seeking volunteers to staff the 308 shifts at the fair for the three-week run. DIW needs floor ambassadors for all shifts, especially those who can work the evening shift at the fair.
Members who want to volunteer can sign up for shifts at the association website,
We need your help – This is your show, and we need you to help with set-up but especially during the show by walking the floor and being ambassadors for the show.
No special knowledge is needed to volunteer. You already know more about woodworking than 99% of the fairgoers. You are the expert.
It’s fun to show the exhibits and tell people more about them. So, sign up for a shift and help us make this the greatest show ever.
This year’s theme for the fair is Get Out There, so we expect many of the entries to reflect some interpretation of that theme.
To learn more please visit About Design in Wood.
To submit your project visit DiW Entry Information.
To view previous first place winners visit DiW Photo Gallery.
And finally, if you have questions, contact Ed at EdGladney@san.rr.com.
Written by Tom York
Daily newspaper reporter and editor for years and years.