And the winner is…
We are absolutely delighted to announce that the winner of the Charlotte Cornelius Design Award 2026 is 'A Mermaid's Tale' by Kirsty Troughton!
A huge thank you to everyone who voted – all 536 of you! We were blown away by the enthusiasm and support for our “What Does Portsmouth Mean To Me?” competition, in honour of Portsmouth100.
The winner was announced on Friday 10th July at The Portsmouth Museum during a wonderful evening celebrating Portsmouth100 and the launch of the Pride of Portsmouth Lion Trail - Each of the 45 spectacular lions has been designed and painted by talented artists, inspired by the people, places and stories that make Portsmouth so special, and can now be discovered across the city.
The evening was filled with pride, creativity and a real sense of community. We were honoured to announce the winner as part of such a special celebration and it was a pleasure to welcome all five finalists, meet them in person and hear more about their experience.
Read more about Kirsty’s winning design here
An exhibition of every design
The creativity doesn't end there! A special reel featuring all 29 competition entries, alongside excerpts from the stories behind each design, is now showing in the Lion Trail Gallery at The Portsmouth Museum until 31st August 2026.
It's free to visit, and it's a wonderful opportunity to see the personal stories that went into every submission, as well as everything else the museum has to offer.
You can also watch the reel here
What happens next?
Kirsty will soon be visiting our Southsea Boutique and Workshop to meet with Charlotte and the team to explore how the idea will be transformed into a handcrafted piece of sterling silver jewellery.
Then over the following weeks, our talented Goldsmiths will expertly make the pendant here in our on-site workshop before we present the finished piece at a special celebration in September at our Southsea Boutique. We'll be inviting every entrant to join us for the occasion, giving everyone the chance to celebrate their creativity and talent together.
We can't wait to share the next chapter as Kirsty's design comes to life!
Thanks to all!
Finally, we'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who entered the Charlotte Cornelius Design Award.
The standard of entries was exceptional, and we have loved seeing the many different ways people chose to celebrate Portsmouth through jewellery design. Every submission told its own story and reflected the creativity, character and pride that make our city so unique.
Thank you as well to our finalists, everyone who took the time to vote, and everyone who has supported the competition from the very beginning. Together you've helped make this a truly memorable way to celebrate Portsmouth100.
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