Articles - 26 July 2006
Vibrant Visions in Design 2006
The best and brightest of Australian furniture designers and design students presented their newest and most innovative designs at VIVID - Vibrant Vision in Designs at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in July. VIVID is the hugely successful and prestigious furniture design competition at the centre of FURNITEX, Australasia's largest furniture and furnishings Trade Fair held in Melbourne every year.
Presented by FURNITEX and curated by the talented Uli Hasel, 100 products were presented by 50 designers in the categories of Commercial, Concept and Student. Designers and design students came from around the country to display their work to the thousands of manufacturers and retailers who attend FURNITEX over the four days of the event. This year featured designers from Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia with 31 new releases in the Commercial section and 56 prototypes in the Student and Concept categories.
Commercial: 2006 saw the welcome return of talented Melbourne designer, Jarrod Lim who last exhibited at VIVID in 2003. He spent the past 18 months in Europe and returned to design for several local manufacturers including Silver Lynx. Jarrod's MANHATTAN lounge is a modern and sleek take on the traditional loveseat that allows the user to adjust the configuration to suit their needs. David Tang's IBIS chest is a clever storage unit of five drawers inspired by Danish designer Finn Juhl. The AFTER HOURS lamp by Daniel Giffin utilises frosted translucent acrylic to create a striking sculptural piece that produces soft ambient light at night. Kids love Elizabeth Lawrence's design and parents are relieved there is now a stylish option when it comes to furnishing their children's room. Elizabeth's GRAB BAG children's chair is a light, robust and contemporary interpretation of the bean bag. Perth's Keith Melbourne turned his back on a successful career in the international automotive industry to focus on furniture design. His DNA coffee table is a clever use of linear elements to create a striking curved form table.
Concept: By day Antony Miller builds sets for the film industry but when a friend asked him to design a bed a couple of years ago he discovered a flair and passion for furniture design. His SLAT table is made completely from off-cuts and solves storage issues by morphing into a narrower shape when not in use. Caz Dunnell and Shaun Barry premiered as a dynamic design duo at last year's VIVID and 12 months on are focussed on producing furniture that strikes a happy balance between comfort and aesthetic appeal. Their DUSK barstool will keep you comfortable at the bar all night with backrest, lumbar support and footrest. Mal Thomas also returned to VIVID with the companion piece to his popular WOBBLY shelves, the WIBBLY WOBBLY storage screen provides a versatile storage solution and a visually appealing screen. Recently arrived from Germany, Sydney based designers Nick McLeod and Andre Roesch presented their own MAGIC CARPET. Comprised of a single flat sheet of fibreglass it can be bent into a variety of shapes to suit the user's needs.
Student: Fresh from the Salone Satellite at the Milan Furniture Show, talented young Perth designer Irene Schneider presented her LUMINANCE table lamp as well as a spectacular seating solution called the OBIE lounge. RMIT student Kain Lucas started his own business to address a gap he saw in the market for quality design that matched consumers' budgets. His JACKRACK media storage solution can be wall hung or free standing and uses CNC technology to create a storage unit perfect for all those pesky knick knacks you can never find a place for. Moss MacGibbon's, PIN PERCH stool is sure to make the hospitality industry sit up and listen. Designed for commercial eateries it is water and weather proof and can be easily disassembled or stacked at the end of a busy day. Musician and furniture design student Paul Grummisch's WAVES coffee table captures nature through technology with a table that emulates the magnificent wave rocks at the centre of Australia.
The three awards were announced at the official opening of FURNITEX at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in July, 2006.
- Commercial: BOH Lamp by Tim Collins
- Concept: Brody Sofa and Chair by Arthur Koutoulas
- Student: Obie Lounge by Irene Schneider
