This year’s ten nominated Australian designers are a mix of emerging talent from a range of categories and materials, and were selected from across Australia by an independent panel of leading influencers from the Australian design community.
The 2015 finalists include: Stephen Roy; Nicholas Fuller; Alison Jackson; Jack Frost; Andrew Southwood-Jones and Alexander Kashin of DAAST; Kenny Yong-soo Son of StudioKyss; Elliot Gorham of Noddy Boffin; Chris Gilbert, Chris Haddad and Josh FitzGerald of Archier Studio; Rowan Turnham and Matthew Harding; and Hugh Altschwager of Inkster Maken.
Each designer will be profiled on Temple & Webster’s blog and a selection of their products sold in an exclusive sale from today, during which public voting will take place. The expert judging panel will take into consideration the full portfolio of work, design aesthetic and commerciality of each nominee to select the winner. The winner will be announced on Thursday 30 July, receiving a major cash prize of $5,000.
The expert judging panel includes: David Clark, author and former editor-in-chief of Vogue Living; Andrea Duvall, homes editor at Sunday Life; David Harrison, design commentator and founder of Design Daily; and Karen McCartney, editorial director at Temple & Webster and renowned author.
Design duo Edward Linacre and Viktor Legin of Copper, took out the overall prize at this year’s Temple & Webster Emerging Designer Award.
Following a nationwide public vote and sale of their products on Temple & Webster, Copper, alongside nine other finalists, were shortlisted for the consideration of the judges before being unanimously selected as winners. “We were genuinely surprised as there was so much talent in the competition,” explains Edward. “This definitely will help get the word out, as Copper was formed only a year and a half ago.”
Beating some of the country’s most exciting emerging furniture and homewares product designers, their prize includes fantastic exposure to Temple & Webster’s 700,000 members, a media publicity campaign and a cash prize of $5,000.
Coco Reynolds of Marz Designs also came out a winner, with her strong sales and public voting allowing her to take out the People’s Choice award. “It’s very encouraging and I feel incredibly humbled to be selected amongst such a pool of talent by the general public,” says Coco. “Competitions like these also act as a platform for new connections and potential collaborations.”