The recently concluded Australian International Furniture Fair (AIFF) 2013 was conducted in grand affair during the month of February at the Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling and saw thousands of furniture enthusiasts from across the world in attendance. The three-day industry event held from February 06 – 08, 2013 coincided with the co-located Decoration + Design 2013 trade show.
An added bonus was the rolling out of The Edge Design Competition Award Presentation in the morning of the first day, which was the event that opened the Australian International Furniture Fair this year. Under the rewards and recognition programme, four main design categories were featured: (1) Student; (2) Commercial; (3) Concept; and (4) Green.
For the competition, at least 38 emerging designers made the shortlist, while 50 new designs were showcased in celebration of Australia’s next wave of furniture design talent. The ceremony saw one creative visionary from each aforementioned segment snag top prize in their respective categories, an achievement welcomed based on outstanding original design innovations.
The winners crowned that day were Stephanie Ng of Melbourne (Concept category – Halo Light), Ash Allen from Victoria (Commercial category – Dollop Light), South Australia’s Toby Nowland (Green category – Fold and Peg Stool), and Ben Brayshaw (Student category – Clam Chair).
Additionally, a series of professionally-led seminars were carried out and covered topics such as Decorating with Style (Abigail Ahern); Design Philosophies, Inspirations and Trends (Greg Natale and Lisa Green); Colour, Texture & Form – Living Surrounds (Scott Lewis, Belinda Christie and Adele Townshend); and Health by Design (Melissa Wittig), to name a few..
