Better Homes & Gardens Australia (BHG) is back with its 2026 Creator Awards, continuing its celebration of Australian makers, growers and creators reshaping how audiences engage with food, gardening, art, design, craft and sustainable living.
2026 winners announced
See the full list of winners for the 2026 Creator Awards, including the People’s Choice Award winner.
What are the Better Homes and Gardens Creator Awards?
Now in its second year, the BHG Creator Awards recognise individuals building passionate communities through practical creativity. The awards celebrate grassroots creators and community builders across six categories: Art & Design, Craft & DIY, Garden & Environment, Food, Sustainability, and for the first time, People’s Choice – where the public has nominated an Australian-based creator making something meaningful, having a genuine impact, inspiring others and strengthening Australia’s creative community (and can vote for the winner, see below).
The Creator Awards build on the long-standing influence of the BHG brand, which for more than four decades has inspired Australians to cook, grow and make. Today, that inspiration increasingly extends beyond editorial content into the communities formed around shared skills, creativity and everyday practical knowledge.
“The Creator Awards exist because the maker community is such a big part of the Better Homes & Gardens brand. Our readers don’t just consume inspiration, 96% of them act on it,” said Megan Osborne, Editor, Better Homes & Gardens Australia.
“They build on ideas, share them, and increasingly they’re the ones creating and bringing them into the fabric of how we live. The Creator Awards are about recognising those people and the communities they’ve built around practical creativity.”
Who are the 2026 Creator Awards finalists?
Craft and DIY
DIY dynamo
- Sophie Gurney
- Luke Moore
- Brooke Styles
- Jaharn Quinn
Winner: Sophie Gurney
Knit, crochet or textile crafter
- Brendan Girak
- Katelyn Leonardo
- Kitiya Palaskas
Winner: Katelyn Leonardo
Renovation mover & shaker
- Max Bidstrup
- Jordan Bruno & Dane Yull
- Josh & Jenna Densten
- Mete Erdogan & Georgia Frances King
Winner: Jordan Bruno & Dane Yull
Art & Design
Interior designer or stylist
- Lucy Gough
- Adam Powell
Winner: Lucy Gough
Product or furniture designer
- Bea Bellingham
- Dustin Fritsche
- Jinsu Jun
- Skye Nilsson
- Leisa Wharington
Winner: Bea Bellingham
Sculpture or textile artist
- Rachel Burke
- Grant Flather
- Hattie Molloy
- Meredith Woolnough
Winner: Meredith Woolnough
Visual artist
- Rachel Castle
- Jacklyn Foster
- Jonathan W Gemmell
- John Pastoriza-Pinol
- Dee Smart
- Christopher Zanko
Winner: Jacklyn Foster
Garden
Garden guru
- Cass Dowding
- Eliza Henry-Jones & Melanie Kerchaval
- Natasha Morgan
- Justin O’Brien
- Stephen Vella
Winner: Natasha Morgan
Landscape designer
- Clea Cregan
- Christine Dodd
- Kath Gadd
Winner: Kath Gadd
Food
Chef or food innovator
- Michelle Powell
- Toby Wilson
Winner: Toby Wilson
Home cook
- Melanie Lionello
- Elizabeth Hewson
- Maddie and Nonna Fina
Winner: Maddie and Nonna Fina
Recipe developer
- Nicole Maguire
- Liz Miu
- Lucy Rosenberg
- Gabriella Simonian
- Tom Smallwood
Winner: Lucy Rosenberg
Environment and sustainability
Environment educator or community impact
- Connie Cao
- Ingrid Devlin
- Maggie T Kera
- Lachlan Moore
- Eliza The Veggie Scientist
Winner: Lachlan Moore
Sustainability champion
- Sarah Aubrey
- Lottie Dalziel
- Mel Logozzo
Winner: Lottie Dalziel
Wildlife guardian or animal educator
- Ben Dessen
- Jannico Kelk
- Emma Teni
- Nick Volpe
- Dr Katrina Warren
- Dr Tegan Hunt
Winner: Ben Dessen
People’s Choice
- Ana Araujo, ceramicist
- Anna-Carien Goosen, artist
- Brandi Salmon, artist
- Emily Christos, home cook
- Emma Higgins, renovation
- Emma Morris, co-founder of The Makers and Shakers market
- Georgina Beaumont, Luxe & Beau homewares store
- Holly Clinton, Foke fashion store
- Ismat Awan, food consultant and stylist
- Jan Gettmann, gardening educator
- Maku Fenaroli of Maku The Label fashion
- Michelle Kistima-Menser of You Are Brave textiles
- Misha Harrison, artist
- Sarah Pound, recipe developer
- Sophie Kovic, Seed and Sprout sustainability store
Winner: Emma Higgins
How the winners were chosen
Judging for the 2026 Creator Awards was led by Better Homes & Gardens Editor Megan Osborne, 2025 award winner Geneva Vanderzeil, and the broader BHG editorial team. Winners were announced at an event alongside a panel hosted by Megan Osborne, with guests Juliet Love, Geneva Vanderzeil and Jono Fleming. The event was held at the State Library of NSW in Sydney on 2nd May.
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