LOCAL FURNITURE MAKERS CRACK NATIONAL COMPETITION FINALS

The Occupational Therapy Department is a very integral part of Sunfield Home Howick. The varied classes not only provide fun, mental and artistic stimulation but assist in fine and basic motor skills and improve strength and dexterity. Small improvements in these areas can make a big difference in enabling an individual to complete everyday tasks. But above all this, Occupational Therapy affords Sunfield residents a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

So when FOSHIM (Friends of Sunfield Home Midlands) was presented with a Wish List from Sunfield’s OT department, not even a pandemic could stop us from fulfilling it! The list included CD players for each classroom, new fans, a quality cordless drill and overalls and implements for the residents involved in tunnel vegetable farming.

A total of R20 000 has been donated by FOSHIM to the OT department.

Some of the ladies of FOSHIM met last Saturday after a long time apart, and the love, the team work, the enthusiasm is still very alive and we all so look forward to the day we can get back to fundraising and achieve our goal of a new wheelchair-accessible bus for Sunfield.

This donation of R20 000 would not have been possible if not for the public’s support, so a big thank you to all of you. With grateful hearts, The FOSHIM Team.

It’s good news for Lidgetton-based hand-crafted furniture makers Homewood.

This gorgeous factory, with retail outlets in Piggly Wiggly, Umhlanga, and Gauteng, has been named one of five finalists in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition 2020 Furniture Design Competition.

Winners will be announced by Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Nomalungelo Gina at the Buy Local Summit and Exhibition on 10 March. The theme of the competition was, “This is mine and these are ours”.

Entrants had to design furniture for four young newly-employed people who are renting a modest apartment. With minimal budget, the designers had to come up with a range of multipurpose, modular furniture that was budgets freindly

Said Ian Perry of Homewood: “I am thrilled we made it through to the finals, and even more excited about the versatile, multifunctional unit we have created for the entry.”

Why did they enter? “We have a lot of designs we create on a daily basis. We are proud of them all, but there are certain designs we think will work extremely well, and it’s nice to be able to enter these a prestigious competition such as DTI, not for bragging rights, but to see how our designs compete against South Africa’s best.”

Perry was optimistic about

Homewood’s chances of winning “Our Nkwana Unite unit is world class: two items serving the function of ten or eleven items within a home - wow, what a cost save! We designed two separate units which pull apart and become a coffee table, couch, desk, dining table, chest of drawers, bottle rack, bookcase, bed, and pedestal...the list goes on.

“The unit is also eco-friendly and sustainably made. The wood has been felled, sawmilled, dried, and manufactured locally.

“My team and I put this together from an idea we further developed on AutoCAD, and then handcrafted the piece from there.”

Bring this one home for the Midlands, guys!