Designers to go eco-friendly y
Young furniture designers preparing prototypes for finale
TEN young furniture designers shortlisted to go head to head at The Ideation Award 2012 are in the final leg of preparing their prototypes for the finale of the furniture talent contest held in conjunction with the Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) 2012.
The theme for Ideation Award 2012 is “My Favourite Chair”. Contestants are required to design a single piece or set for contemporary lifestyle that is eco-friendly.
With entries sporting names such as Rock “N’ Roll, Flip Chair, Just Like Old Times, Outgrown Love and Duet Chair, most of the finalists picked rubber wood as the main material for their multifunctional pieces. (see attached finalists).
The 10 finalists, selected from 178 entries, are being helped by nine top local manufacturers to construct their prototypes for the final judging round on March 5 and to be displayed during MIFF 2012 from March 6 to 10.
“I am very excited about the Ideation Award which is just into its third year. It has yielded several creative and market appealing designs which were vetted by a joint panel of international and local judges for the first time,” said MIFF Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Tan Chin Huat.
“We started the award to discover new talent because we believe this is vital to sustain the future of the Malaysian furniture industry.
“The finalists are given the fantastic opportunity to showcase their pieces at a special gallery during MIFF before an international audience of buyers, exhibitors and media.”
MIFF Sdn Bhd is the founder and organiser of the annual MIFF since 1995. The trade show is considered one of the top 10 industry shows in the world.
Klaus Kummer, one of the judges from Thailand, lauded the Ideation Award as a “great beginning” to help designer and manufacturer communicate and gain more understanding of design ideas, material and production.
“It takes two parties to create a successful design. The one who has the idea and the one that can see the idea; only if these two parties connect, a new product is created,” he said.
Malaysia’s largest furniture exporter, Poh Huat Furniture Industries (M) Sdn Bhd is supporting the Ideation Award as a Diamond Sponsor and is also among the nine manufacturers which are constructing the prototypes.
The finalists were selected after two preliminary rounds of judging held in October last year.
They will appear before the judges again with their prototypes on March 5 with the winner to be announced on March 8.
For the first time, the award was opened to Malaysians and foreigners based in Malaysia below 30 years old and due to popular demand will expand the competition beyond design students from selected institutions. The total prize money was increased to RM10,000 with RM5,000 as the top prize.
The seven-member judges’ panel comprised renowned furniture designers from Japan, Thailand, China, Singapore, and Malaysia.
All the prototypes will be showcased at a special gallery at the Matrade Exhibition & Convention Centre (MECC), one of the two venues for MIFF 2012. The other is the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).