On the 7th Day of Christmas… A Wendell August Forge Giveaway! (Winner Announced)

December 9, 2011

UPDATE: The winner of the Wendell August Forge Wintersong Hostess Tray is:

#1,378 – Lorna: Her comment on being an RSS subscriber was the winner, but her favorite ornament?
“My husband started a tradition where we make a new ornament with our picture each year; those are my favorites. ”

Congratulations Lorna! You should have already received an email from me; make sure you reply with your mailing address so I can get your new platter shipped out to you!

Thanks everyone for entering, and good luck as the giveaways continue next week!

Welcome to Day 7 of the “12 Days of Giveaways”!

Today I am featuring a gorgeous hostess tray from Wendell August Forge, which was founded in 1923 and is headquartered about an hour north of Pittsburgh. I have received a couple of their pieces as gifts in the past and recently have purchased every single ornament they have created along with the Pittsburgh Penguins over the last couple of years. They are known for their handcrafted aluminum giftware, ranging from platters to home decor pieces, ornaments, jewelry, and everything in between.

I was invited up to their factory for a tour and to get a close-up look as to how their products are made. Let me first say that every single person I met with could not possibly have been any nicer, just wonderful people. And secondly, I was utterly blown away by the amount of precision, detail and painstaking work that goes into each and every piece.

One of my first stops on the tour was the room where die cutting takes place. On the left, a gentleman was using hand-crafted tools to etch out a new design. On the right, another gentleman was using a machine that enables him to go over a sketch with his right hand, and an engraving tool copies his movements onto the metal below.

Below on the left is just one row in a room that has metal plates for every single design that has made its way into a Wendell August piece. There were rows and rows, with thousands of die plates. Truly incredible.

On the right is the picture that I most treasure from my trip to Wendell August. Although I couldn’t talk about it at the time because it hadn’t been announced yet, Wendell August partnered with the Pittsburgh Penguins to make Christmas ornaments from the roof material of the Civic Arena (which is in the process of being torn down). What you see on the right are actual sections of the Civic Arena roof that had been delivered to Wendell August for the ornaments.

I honestly can’t say enough great things about this company – from the craftsmanship that goes into their work, to the kind and generous employees that I met. I am thrilled to be giving away a gorgeous Christmas serving piece to one of you! I’d also like to encourage you to check out their website – if you are stumped about what to buy someone for Christmas, you just might find a treasure there! They have everything from serving pieces to ornaments, home accessories, and even jewelry. If you’re like me, you’ll end up buying a bunch of stuff for yourself

(Just a reminder that there will be no giveaways over the weekend; they will resume on Monday for the final 5 days of giveaways!)

Giveaway Details

The winner will receive one (1) Wintersong Hostess Tray (pictured above) from Wendell August Forge

How to Enter

To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post and answer the question:
“What is your favorite Christmas ornament?”

You can receive up to FOUR additional entries to win by doing the following:

1. Subscribe to Brown Eyed Baker by either RSS or email. Come back and let me know you’ve subscribed in an additional comment.

2. Follow @browneyedbaker on Twitter. Come back and let me know you’ve followed in an additional comment.

3. Tweet the following about the giveaway: “Day 7 of “12 Days of Giveaways” from @browneyedbaker: Win a gorgeous Wintersong Hostess Tray from Wendell August! http://wp.me/p1rsii-3T9”. Come back and let me know you’ve Tweeted in an additional comment.

4. Become a fan of Brown Eyed Baker on Facebook. Come back and let me know you became a fan in an additional comment.

Deadline: Today (Friday), December 9, 2011 at 11:59pm EST

Winner: The winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and announced here tomorrow. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, another winner will be selected.

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by Wendell August Forge and Brown Eyed Baker.

GOOD LUCK!!

posted in Giveaways