The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies will address finalists and stakeholders at the second annual National Furniture Design Competition at the Design Indaba Expo in Cape Town on Thursday, 18 February 2016. The competition is part of the dti’s Furniture Strategy and the Industrial Policy Action Plan to address the shortage of high-level skills and modern innovative designs in the furniture industry.

According to Minister Davies, the competition seeks to provide seating and waiting solutions for public spaces and government institutions such as airports, health institutions, municipalities, and other government entities that interact with the public in one way or the other.

“The competition will also benefit the industry and influence products manufactured locally to promote industrial growth and the use of local inputs such as wood and textiles in the furniture manufacturing sector,” says Davies.

He adds that the move was part of the dti‘s initiatives to encourage participation in the furniture industry and to promote the design skill in the industry.

“Furniture design can play a significant role in the industry’s development and beneficiation of raw materials. It is thus possible to position the local industry as the producer of high-value niche furniture products that are globally competitive," adds Minister Davies.

In the design student category, finalists are Natalie Celliers  and Julia Mackintosh from Greenside Design Center College, Kasha Botha, Ayasanga Mendu, Desree Lukhele from Tshwane University of Technology, and Ivan Brown from the University of Johannesburg.

The finalists in the established designer’s category are Modular Seating, Minma, Curiosity, StudioMIC, Creation Alive, Michael Forst and Gradjevinar.

The National Furniture Design Competition is coordinated by the dti in partnership with the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) Design Institute, Industrial Development Co-operation (IDC), Furntech and two companies from the private sector, Bidvest Seating and Mecad. The competition was opened to both established and student designers.

Issued by The Department of Trade and Industry