HYSTERICAL! Good luck with this contest once again. I can only imagine what will come in--like a casting call for the mutant avenger! Wants to be "the hero" but doesn't get the costume right...

Best,
Leslie Rogalski
editor of Beading Daily

Loving to see this contest !! It is a running joke in my circle that I
have talked about opening a bead shop called /What An Ugly Necklace. /
Wouldn't it be great answering the business phone?
--Janis Tingstrom

ATTN: Judges: Bribable. My Promise to You:
A) The judges will faint, upon viewing my entry
B) It will be "UGLIER" than Pittsburgh
C) It consists of beads having UGLY history
D) You will NEVER contract me to design your personal showpiece
E) I am not ugly -- in mind or body
-- Mary Reilly

Congratulations to the author(s) of this idea. I for one, had a lot of fun putting together the entry material -- Robert De Luccia

Thanks for the opportunity to delve and search.....for what may be ugly to one is beauty to another..... -- Sherry Masters

How much fun is this?! Whoever came up with this contest idea is a frickin' genius!! While on one of our Saturday morning bead hunting junkets (estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores, etc), we spotted a particularly ugly necklace at our favorite local antique shop. We held it up, made a few Flintstone jokes, had a good giggle, then moved on. Weeks later, upon learning about your contest, we immediately remembered this particular necklace. Needless to say, we rushed to the antique shop, hoping and praying our find was still there. Much to our delight, there it was ... the necklace so ugly it bites back. We plunked down the $10 price and the rest is history. -- Shelly & Kelly Houston

I apologize for the blurriness of the bottom picture, the camera and I were having a fight. It didn't want to take a close shot of my necklace because it was so UGLY! It did everying to try to make the necklace pretty, from blurring, to bighting, to backing away, so I had to choose the best 3 shots that I had...... Please know that my husband and I are very capable of creating much prettier necklaces and bracelets. -- Melinda and James Lunsford

I read of your contest and felt like it had been made just for me! I love to write and I love to craft. So I wrote a poem about a necklace and then set about making the necklace I had written about. -- Linda Allison

Here's my entry for your intriguing "Ugly Necklace Contest." Thanks so much for sponsoring this competition. It's a great one because everybody's a winner -- either you get the prizes or you find out your necklace isn't as ugly as you thought it was! -- Suzanne Ivester

It has been fun not only making a necklace for your Ugly Necklace Contest, but coming up with a poem about it as well. I got so carried away, I even made a hat to go with it. Never miss a chance to accessorize! -- Nancy Jane Johnson

Comments from forums and newsgroups:
What a big bunch of ugly fun! Thanks for sharing this with us, and for organizing the contest.

Heh, I had the entry form for this contest...then I realized I am not good enough yet to make anything THAT ugly!

All I can say is, I'm glad I don't have to wear any of them!

Boy, it is hard to try and design an "ugly" necklace. You have to really break out of your box! I had considered entering this contest back when they first announced it. First place winner is going to get almost 1000 bucks worth of beads from Land of Odds. I went and voted! Everyone else should too! No need to register, just choose the "ugliest" one. That isn't easy to do either! LOL!

Hehe...so what do you do if you can't decide? They're all pretty hideous looking! =)

I have one question: How is the banana necklace holding up? I think this competition is awesome! I spent last night and this morning plotting my September submission.

I submitted one picture of my very pretty friend Kathleen wearing the necklace. I think this ugly necklace made Kathleen break out in ugly. -- Mary Dellucci

dear warren

I have just returned from my 12th haute couture season in paris. I want you to know that your so called ugly necklaces have some real charm to them, real wit and real style. Why you call them ugly is anyone's guess. I design my own line of jewelry and would probably not design a necklace such as what you showed from your ugly contest, yet I do not classify the pieces as "ugly".

We have been on line for over 5 years reporting the international fashion scene and believe me I have seen ugly. These charmers from your contest are not!

all my best
christine suppes
editor and publisher
www.fashionlines.com