Wood Material Takes Center Stage at this Year’s MIFF FDC

MIFF Furniture Design Competition, Malaysia’s premier furniture design contest, opens up this year’s competition with a theme on “Living Furniture, Global Perspective.” The design contest was officially opened with a successful “Behind-the-Design” workshop held last August 28 at the Putra World Trade Center.. The workshop was attended by 200 participants from leading academic institutions and designs firms.

For this year’s contest, the product designs are centered on the use of materials. This is the organisers’ way of highlighting the exotic and unique aspects of wooden furniture produced in Malaysia. Following this initiative, The Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) announced that it will be sponsoring the MIFF FDC next year.

Dato’ Tan said, “By setting wood as the main material for the competition entry, we hope that it will enhance awareness among the younger generation on the eco-friendliness, versatility and beauty of wood, a material that has helped propel the growth of the Malaysian furniture industry.”

MTC’s Chief Executive Office Datuk Yeo Heng Hau couldn’t agree more. He also cited that the competition will serve as an ideal venue for young designers to showcase their talents as well as acquire helpful exposure in the field of furniture design. He also added that the designers will get the opportunity to get invaluable insights from the experts in the furniture industry.

The “Behind-the-Design” workshop started off with a presentation entitled “Creative Design from Nature’s Bounty” by Mr. Philip Yap, who is also this year’s chief judge for the competition. Yap’s talk was followed by a presentation on “Timber for Furniture-Its Limit is Your Imagination” presented by Dr. Wong Tuck Meng, the Director of Timber Industry Development Division of MTC.

The 6th MIFF FDC is open for submission until October 10, 2014. Participants eligible to join the competition are Malaysians, foreigners and students residing in the country and are below 30 years old. Designs which will qualify for the final selection will be prototyped and displayed during next year’s MIFF. This year, the competition aims to top its record from last year’s 244 submissions.

Winner of the competition will take home RM 10,000. Second prize and third prize winners will receive RM 5,000 and RM 2,500 respectively. Finalists will be awarded with RM500 each.