The Jurors

Jurors are selected to represent a balanced knowledge of contemporary woodworking and of Hawai‘i forestry. Awards are based on “Inspiration of Design” and “Excellence of Implementation.”

Steven Hill,

University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, School of Architecture Steven Hill grew up in Missouri roaming the ridges and valleys of the Ozark foothills and studying art, until a Bob Stocksdale bowl changed his direction. That bowl spoke eloquently of the grace and power that can be embodied in simple objects. After a BFA from the School for American Craftsmen Furniture Design and Woodworking Program at Rochester Institute of Technology, he traveled to Pago Pago and “fell for Polynesia”. In Honolulu, he ran the studio craft ventures Steven Hill Designs and Meder Hill Designs before earning a MFA from University of Kansas in Industrial Design. He then helped Commercial Furniture Group grow from 60 to 300 million in sales receiving a handful of industry awards and served as designer/design manager for Falcon Products, ShelbyWilliams and Thonet US. He now directs the 3D Lab and teaches Furniture Design at University of Hawai‘i Mānoa School of Architecture and roams O‘ahu’s hills and valleys.

Wendy Maruyama,

San Diego State University, Furniture Design With a BA from San Diego State University and a MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology, Maruyama has exhibited nationally with solo exhibitions in New York, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Indianapolis, Savannah and Easthampton, New York, and internationally in Tokyo, Seoul and London. Her work is in the collections of Victoria and Albert Museum; Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Australia; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Philadelphia Museum of Art; New York Museum of Arts and Design; Houston Museum of Fine Arts; Mint Museum of Craft + Design, North Carolina; Fuller Craft Museum, Massachusetts; Mingei International Museum, San Diego and Oakland Museum of California. She has received prestigious awards including California Civil Liberties Public Education Grant and Japan-United States Friendship Commission Grant, plus numerous Visual Artists’ Fellowships from National Endowment for the Arts and a United Kingdom residency with the Fulbright US Scholar Program.

Peter Simmons,

Retired Hawai‘i Forest Land Manager Peter has been involved with forestry in Hawai‘i for over 30 years specializing in forest, pasture and large orchard land management for Kamehameha Schools (KS). As Ranch Manager for McCandless Ranch he managed the harvest and processing of timber into kiln dried lumber. He was part of the team establishing the first large conservation partnerships including Three Mountain Alliance and Kohala Watershed Alliance and was instrumental in repurposing over 100,000 acres of pasture to forest and over 40,000 acres of sugar land to tree farms. This pasture land now produces tens of millions of koa, ‘ohia, naio and mamane seedlings. Forest restoration by repurposing and removing prime perturbations has been a clear success. Now retired, Peter started “In The Woods” focusing on bowl turning, furniture making and tool development. One turning tool invention is being produced by Oneway of Ontario, Canada. Another is in final design refinement.