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Over $20k in cash to be won

Over $20,000 in cash prizes is up for grabs in Against the Grain 2027. Students, enthusiasts and professionals can compete across Functional & Furniture, Artistic & Ornamental, and Australian Woodturning, with $1,500 awarded to each division winner, $2,500 to each Overall Category Winner, plus $500 for People’s Choice and Captain’s Pick.
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Who can enter?

Against the Grain welcomes woodworkers at every stage, from students and passionate enthusiasts to seasoned professionals. Enter the division that best reflects your experience: Student, Amateur, or Professional. Every entry is judged within its division, giving each maker a fair opportunity to showcase their skill and creativity.

  • Student Division

  • Amateur Division

  • Professional Division

Three categories to enter

Choose the category that best reflects your work: Functional & Furniture, Artistic & Ornamental, or Australian Woodturning. Each celebrates a different approach to timber, from practical design and skilled craftsmanship to creative expression.

  • Functional & Furniture

    This category celebrates practical
    pieces like tables, chairs, cabinets,
    and other functional items.

    View Judging Criteria

  • Artistic & Ornamental

    Focus on decorative and creative pieces
    like carvings, sculptures, instruments
    and ornamental designs.

    View Judging Criteria

  • Australian Wood Turning

    The classic event, this category is dedicated to any lathe-based creations, including bowls, vases, spindles, and other turned pieces.

    View Judging Criteria

Important Dates

Keep these key dates in mind as you prepare your entry. From submissions opening to the finalists’ exhibition at TT&T Melbourne, here’s everything you need to know.
Date Event
31 January 2027 Entries open
31 August 2027 Entries close
10 September 2027 Finalists announced
8 October 2027 Invitational Awards Night
8 October 2027 Winners announced
9 October 2027 Finalists’ projects exhibited at TT&T Melbourne

Meet The Judges

Meet the accomplished makers, designers and educators who make up our judging panel. With expertise spanning furniture making, woodturning, carving and fine craftsmanship, they bring decades of experience and a genuine passion for celebrating exceptional work.

Functional & Furniture

  • Patrick Holcombe

    Patrick is a Melbourne furniture designer, maker and founder of Douglas Fir Design. Self-taught, his work is grounded in durability, honest joinery and thoughtful design. He also teaches furniture design and collaborates with architects, creating award-winning pieces built to last.

  • Phoebe Evervill

    Phoebe is a professional designer and maker based in central Victoria, known for her clean, crisp style influenced by Japanese and Shaker design. An experienced educator and mentor, she has exhibited widely, contributed to woodworking publications and runs an established furniture-making school.

  • Ricky Wood

    Ricky is the founder and tutor at Melbourne woodworking school The Shed. He creates bespoke heirloom furniture from sustainably sourced and reclaimed hardwood, with each piece thoughtfully handmade to meet the client’s needs and tell a meaningful story.

Artistic & Ornamental

  • Alma Clementina

    Alma is a Melbourne-based industrial designer and founder of Decoteca, specialising in handmade timber furniture, carved objects and installations. Originally established in Mexico, her practice combines functionality and modern design while supporting craftsmanship and sharing her passion for timber.

  • Carl Lutz

    Carl is a master craftsperson with decades of experience in furniture making, restoration and reproduction. An accomplished carver, turner and French polisher, he works with both traditional hand tools and modern machinery and shares his knowledge as a senior tutor at the Victorian Woodworkers Association.

  • Gary Rizzolo

    Gary is a Melbourne-based master instrument maker with over 40 years’ experience crafting finely toned guitars. An artist and qualified teacher, his work is shaped by his Italian-Australian heritage, lifelong involvement in music and the traditions of European instrument making.

Australian Woodturning

  • Paul Barton

    Paul is a self-taught woodturner with over 20 years’ experience, known for highlighting the natural character of salvaged and recycled timber. He exhibits, teaches and demonstrates across Australia and received the 2023 Tasmanian Premier’s Award for Excellence in Craft.

  • Andrew Potocnik

    Andrew is a Melbourne-based wood artist, educator and writer with decades of experience. His work has been exhibited internationally, featured in leading publications and acquired by major art collections. He continues to explore timber’s artistic possibilities while sharing his expertise as a teacher.

  • Jim Bennett

    Jim is an experienced woodturner and part of the family behind Pop’s Shed Woodworking. Alongside supporting makers with quality tools, timber and supplies, he helps deliver workshops for woodturners of all skill levels and is passionate about growing Australia’s woodworking community.

Terms & Conditions

Before submitting your entry, please read the full Terms and Conditions. They contain important information about eligibility, entry requirements, judging, prizes and key dates.

Eligibility
  • Entry is open to enthusiast, professional and student woodworkers based in Australia.
  • A professional is defined as anyone who has earned more than $2,000 AUD from woodworking-related activities within a single calendar year.
  • Collaborative entries are permitted, provided all contributors are named in the entry. Any prize will be awarded collectively to the entry and delivered to one nominated Australian address.
  • Employees of Timbecon and participating competition sponsors are not eligible to enter.
  • Contributors who received payment from Timbecon for content during 2026 or 2027 are not eligible to enter.
  • Timbecon reserves the right to review an entrant’s background where there is uncertainty regarding their selected division.
  • If an entrant is found to have misrepresented their status—for example, by submitting a professional entry in the Enthusiast or Student division—Timbecon may disqualify the entry or move it to the appropriate division. This decision will be made at the discretion of Timbecon and the Against the Grain judging panel.

Entry Requirements
  • Projects must be made primarily from wood, although other materials may be incorporated.
  • Projects must have been created between 10 October 2026 and the competition closing date in April 2027.
  • Projects must not have previously been entered in an Against the Grain competition.
  • Entrants may submit multiple projects and may enter the same project in more than one category where applicable. A separate entry fee and entry form are required for each submission.
  • Entries must fit within the footprint of a standard Australian pallet for transport and display. Maximum dimensions are 1.165 m wide × 1.165 m deep × approximately 2 m high.
  • Oversized entries may be disqualified or deemed ineligible for exhibition unless prior written approval has been obtained from Timbecon.
  • If selected as a finalist, the project must be available for in-person judging and exhibition at the 2027 Tools, Timber & Techniques event.
  • Timbecon will cover reasonable freight costs associated with transporting finalists’ projects to and from the event. Freight arrangements must be approved by Timbecon in advance.
  • Finalists are responsible for packing their projects securely and appropriately for transport. Timbecon accepts no responsibility for loss or damage resulting from inadequate or unsuitable packaging.

Image Requirements
  • Each entry must include clear, high-quality photographs of the individual project. A minimum of five and a maximum of eight images may be submitted.
  • Image collages will not be accepted.
  • Photographs must accurately represent the physical project and must be wholly photographic. AI-generated imagery, computer-generated renders or tools used to create or materially alter the appearance of the project are not permitted.
  • Basic photographic adjustments—including cropping, exposure, contrast, colour correction and sharpening—are permitted, provided they do not materially alter the project or add, remove or modify elements.
  • JPEG is the preferred file format. PNG and GIF files are also accepted.
  • Images must measure at least 2,500 pixels along the longest edge.
  • The maximum file size is 2 MB per image.
  • Images must not contain watermarks, logos or other branding. Entries containing these elements may be disqualified.
  • If photographs were taken by a third-party photographer, the entrant must have permission for Timbecon to use the images for promotional purposes. The photographer’s name must also be included in the submission.

Copyright & Usage
  • Entrants retain ownership of their submitted projects and imagery.
  • By entering, entrants grant Timbecon a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to reproduce, publish and use submitted images and entry information for competition-related promotional purposes across online, print, email and social media channels.
  • Timbecon will credit the maker wherever reasonably possible.
  • Entrants must be the original makers of the submitted projects.
  • Any third-party design, pattern or plan used in the creation of a project must be clearly acknowledged and credited in the entry.

Categories & Pricing
  • Entry fees are in AUD and charged per submission.
  • The entry fee covers the logistical cost of transporting the submission, if selected as a finalist, to the event venue at Timbecon, 594 Edgars Road, Epping VIC 3076.
  • Categories are:
  1. Functional & Furniture – Practical pieces such as tables, chairs, cabinets, and other functional items.
  2. Artistic & Ornamental – Decorative and creative pieces including carvings, sculptures, instruments, and ornamental designs.
  3. Australian Woodturning – A revival of the classic event, this category celebrates lathe-based creations such as bowls, vases, spindles, and other turned pieces.
  • Additional cross-category awards may include: People’s Choice Award and Captain's Choice.

Judging
  • Judging is conducted by a panel of expert woodworkers, woodturners, artists, and designers selected by Timbecon.
  • Entries will be judged on (but not limited to):
    1. Design and originality
    2. Skill, technique, and build quality
    3. Functionality (where applicable)
    4. Attention to detail
    5. Use of materials
  • The judges’ decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Dates & Deadlines
  • Entries open: 8:30 am AEDT on 31 January, 2027
  • Entries close: 11:59 pm AEST on 31 August, 2027
  • Finalists announced: 10 September, 2027
  • Invitational Awards Night: 8 October, 2027
  • Winners announced: 8 October, 2027
  • Finalists’ projects will be exhibited at TT&T Melbourne: October 9, 2027

Prizes
  • Prizes may include cash, products, or vouchers.
  • Prizes are non-transferable and not redeemable for cash.
  • If a prize becomes unavailable, Timbecon reserves the right to substitute it with an item of equal value.
  • Timbecon is not responsible for items lost or damaged in transit.
  • Prize Breakdown
    Fourteen prizes will be awarded. Within each of the three categories, prizes will be awarded under three divisions.

    Artistic and Ornamental
    Professional $1,000
    Enthusiast $1,000
    Student $1,000
    Overall $2,500

    Functional & Furniture
    Professional $1,000
    Enthusiast $1,000
    Student $1,000
    Overall $2,500

    Australian Woodturning
    Professional $1,000
    Enthusiast $1,000
    Student $1,000
    Overall $2,500

    In addition, there will be:
    People Choice Award $500
    Captain's Pick $500

General
  • By submitting an entry, entrants confirm that they have read, understood and agreed to these Terms and Conditions.
  • Entries that breach these Terms and Conditions may be disqualified, and any associated prizes may be withheld or forfeited.
  • Timbecon reserves the right to verify information provided by entrants and request further information where reasonably necessary.
  • Timbecon reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions, adjust competition dates or cancel the competition where reasonably necessary.
  • Any material changes will be communicated through the competition website or directly to affected entrants where practical.
  • To the extent permitted by law, Timbecon is not responsible for any loss, damage, delay or disruption caused by circumstances outside its reasonable control.