Rewarding young designers who have upcycling on the brain
Encouraging people to upcycle is incredibly important, but if you can start them thinking about it when they are young then it is even better.
The Young Creations Award is an annual upcycling contest, held for the last four years, that highlights young designers who create objects and room concepts complying with upcycling criteria.
Hosted by Heimtextil, young design students, master students and young master craftspeople from across Europe, got together to showcase the extraordinary possibilities when it comes to upcycling.
“The subject of sustainability has also been an important aspect of the fair for some years and is more than just a short-lived trend for us. With the competition, we have once again succeeded in creating a platform that draws the attention of trade and industry to young designers”, said Ulrike Wechsung, Heimtextil Director, during the awards ceremony. With over 26 entries, the competition proved very popular among up-and-coming designers, interior architects and interior decorators – especially from European academies.
And the award goes to…
Marina Varfolomeeva from the Domus Academy in Milan, took top honours in the new ‘Room concept category with her ‘Renewal Room.’ An entire room created under the upcycling motto.
For her ‘Recreate Textiles – Collection of Materials made from Industrial Cotton Waste’ Katrin Krupka, from Potsdam University of Applied Sciences in Germany, won the ‘Contract’ category.
The runner-up prize went to another German student from Oldenburg Chamber of Commerce. Detlef Nordemann received second prize for his armchair creation comprising of a big cushion and the backrest of a chair, entitled ‘Loom.’
While Wuthigrai Siriphon of the Royal College of Art in London took third spot for his project ‘Hand-woven textiles for next-generation craftspeople.’ Wuthigrai replaces yarn with plastic threads to create multi-functional 3D fabric.
Finally, a special award went to Lars Dahlitz of the Faculty for Applied Art in Schneeberg, Austria for his work entitled ‘Furniture from old wood.’ Lars transforms old wine barrels into new seats.
