Pretoria - The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has invited design students to enter the National Furniture Design Competition.
Minister Rob Davies said the competition aims to encourage participation in the furniture industry. It also seeks to promote the design of modern furniture for small living spaces, and the use of local inputs such as wood and textiles.
Minister Davies said that the competition is also a way of encouraging participation in the furniture industry and to complement the proposed design course for design skills development.
The entrants to the competition will have to submit technical drawings of the product, including the final product dimensions and 3D drawings, a description of materials and inputs to be used in production, the description of the design, and the concept behind the design. The winners will be announced at the annual Design Indaba in Cape Town in March 2015.
Minister Davies, who described the furniture industry as an important sector in the South African economy, sees the sector as one which has a potential to contribute to the reduction of unemployment, increase exports and develop the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME).
“Design can also play a significant role in the industry’s development and beneficiation of raw materials and it is thus far possible to position the local industry as the producer of high value niche furniture products that are globally competitive,” said Minister Davies.
He said the industry only contributed 1% to domestic manufacturing sales and only 1.6% to local employment in 2012, compared to other manufacturing industries.
Further information on the competition can be obtained from the dti website through this link: http://www.thedti.gov.za/invitations/Furniture_Competition.pd or by calling 012 394 1260.
The competition is presented by the dti, in partnership with the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) Design Institute, Industrial Development Co-operation (IDC) and Furntech. - SAnews.gov.za
