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The winners of the BOAT Artistry & Craft Awards, in association with Parkway England, have been revealed at the Superyacht Design Festival in Kitzbühel, Austria. Created to spotlight the often-unseen makers behind exceptional yacht interiors, the awards recognise the artisans, specialists and collaborative teams who dedicate extraordinary time and skill to the crafted details on board – ranging from bespoke furniture and surface treatments to staircases and one-of-a-kind artworks.
Entering its third year, the programme encompasses three award categories: Excellence in Craftsmanship, Outstanding Collaborative Creation and Emerging Artisan of the Year. The 2025 submissions were reviewed by a panel of esteemed industry experts and set an exceptionally high benchmark. In response to the quality of work presented, the judges elected to award an additional Judges’ Commendation to one of the finalists.
Parkway England's CEO Jay Rushton spoke about the importance of the awards: "As makers, one of our biggest challenges is recognition - not for the company, but for the individual artisans and craftspeople behind the work," He continued, "Everybody sees the finished article, but nobody sees how it was derived or the effort it takes to reach that final point. These awards help promote the artisans coming into the marketplace and give them the recognition they deserve."
Nature Squared's co-founder Lay Koon Tan was impressed by the standard of entries, noting that the awards is going from strength to strength: "This year we saw an extraordinary mix of new materiality alongside very traditional and innovative techniques, from lost-wax moulding to stake weaving."
Below are the winners of this year’s BOAT Artistry & Craft Awards...
Excellence in Craftsmanship: Eva Mechler
Nominated by Liaigre, designer and furniture maker Eva Mechler produced a collection of seven sculptural wooden basins for Alia Yachts’ 50-metre full-custom ALY501, each of which was carved from carefully chosen natural timbers. The wood was smoked to achieve a range of tonal variations, allowing every sink to express its own grain and character while maintaining cohesion across the set.
As with all her commissions, Mechler directed the project from initial concept through to installation. The basins were shaped using a combination of traditional hand-carving and advanced processes, including 3D modelling, prototyping and precision CNC carving, selected according to the requirements of each form. Discreetly engineered mounting systems were integrated into every piece, enabling safe removal and reinstallation without damage.
The sinks are treated with natural finishing products and supplied with detailed care instructions for the crew. These measures ensure the timber matures gracefully despite regular exposure to water.
The judges said:
The judges consistently focused on the difficulty of working with wood in a wet environment, the precision and restraint of Mechler’s process, and the craftsmanship embedded in her methods – traditions that have been passed down through her family. "I hugely admire Eva Mechler’s work with handcrafted, natural timber – it is beautifully considered and incredibly refined," said Julia Dean, senior interior designer at Winch Design.
Adrian Sassoon agreed, adding, "The finesse of her work is always beautiful. There’s no concession when it comes to accuracy." Jay Rushton was most impressed by the work behind each sink. "What stands out to me is the process behind it – the smoking of the timber, the laminating, the sealing," he concluded.
Outstanding Collaborative Creation: Alexandra Llewellyn
An informal game of backgammon in Alexandra Llewellyn’s Belgravia studio sparked the idea for a set of three custom-designed games for the 79.5-metre Feadship yacht Valor. The resulting collection comprises a tournament backgammon board, a circular backgammon set and a solitaire game, all conceived by Llewellyn in close collaboration with her artisans and a specialist marquetry workshop. Together, the pieces reflect a shared focus on narrative, craftsmanship and the social ritual of play.
Over a six-month period, Llewellyn coordinated a network of craftspeople to realise the designs using traditional marquetry methods refined over centuries. Thousands of individually cut veneers, along with shell and metal details, were precisely inlaid, with seven specialist workshops contributing expertise in joinery, inlay, leatherwork and finishing. Each game tells its own story, drawing on themes ranging from celestial navigation to the drama of the sea.
The judges said:
The judges praised the project for its exceptional execution, depth of detail and the way collaboration elevated a clear design vision into a cohesive, high-quality whole. "The board games are exquisite in their execution," said Julia Dean. "The depth created through the layering of pattern and colour, and the attention to detail throughout, was exceptional." Adrian Sassoon agreed, adding, "The level of quality absolutely overrides all its competition."
Jay Rushton was most impressed by the technicality involved in the project: "For me, this is what forms part of exceptional craftsmanship," he said. "It's that crazy passion for what you do and the inspiration and the story and everything else that goes with it, so that when you see the finished thing, and someone goes, 'That's quite nice, isn't it?', it's the story [behind it] that magnifies it."
Finally, Lay Koon praised the spirit of teamwork and use of materials: "To our concept about collaboration, where all these parties come together, it's [Alexandra's] concept and vision, but there are also all the people and all the elements involved. It's not just the marquetry – it's also all the materials."
Emerging Artisan of the Year: Zena Holloway
Nominated by design studio Winch Design, Zena Holloway is a bio-designer and the founder of Rootfull. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience as an underwater photographer and creative director, she applies her deep knowledge of marine environments to the development of sustainable, living materials. Her practice reimagines plant root systems as functional, sculptural interior elements with a strong environmental ethos.
For the dining space aboard Nasiba, Holloway created a series of bespoke wall lamps using exclusively zero-VOC, chemical-free and pest-free components. Each piece is formed from grass roots grown into complex networks, guided by natural biopolymer binders and meticulously hand-stitched to a wire armature. Wax moulds are carved to define upright, sculptural profiles, shaping the roots so they diffuse light while showcasing the raw textures of the fibres. An organic cotton textile adds structural support, allowing the root sheets to wrap cleanly around the frame.
The judges said:
The work stood out for its material innovation, biological process and originality, rather than conventional yacht-industry craft. "Zena Holloway’s work is so innovative and unique," said Deborah Pocock LVO, CEO, Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST). She continued, "What you can do and create with it is infinite in terms of its use. She's also producing clothing and some amazing millinery with it."
Art dealer and curator Adrian Sassoon added: "Growing your own material is extraordinary – not just for what is grown, but for what it replaces. It represents a completely new way of thinking about materiality."
Judges' Commendation: Yoshinori Nagashima
Metal artist Yoshinori Nagashima was nominated by design studio Winch Design for his bespoke cutlery created for Nasiba. He is represented by Yuzemi, a London-based Japanese tableware studio that champions contemporary Japanese craftsmanship and connects makers such as Nagashima with an international audience. For the 44.3-metre Cantiere delle Marche yacht, Nagashima was invited to extend his Zemmai Series into a full dining collection.
Originally conceived as a set of six objects, the project grew into 598 individually hand-made stainless-steel pieces. The final commission included twelve complete place settings, thirty pairs of chopsticks with accompanying rests, and a comprehensive selection of serving implements. Referencing the unfurling shape of the fiddlehead fern, each utensil features a restrained spiral detail and is designed to marry sculptural elegance with daily usability.
Each item is produced entirely by hand through a process of heating, forging and TIG welding, followed by an acid wash and a final reheating. This finishing stage creates a soft blue hue that gradually develops a warmer patina with age. Individual production times ranged from 40 to 70 minutes, supported by extensive prototyping to refine balance, weight and tactility.
The judges said:
The rationale for why Nagashima’s work stood out for a commendation centres on three points the judges repeatedly returned to: the sheer scale of the commission, the intensity of the handcraft involved and the depth of functional thinking behind each piece."It’s nice to know his understanding about how [the utensils are] actually used to scoop food and how it’s delivered to your mouth," noted Jay Rushton. "There’s a huge amount of thought gone into the actual fabrication."