First, meet the designers in our competition (who you can also see in this issue of the magazine). They are (from left) Nat Cheshire of Cheshire Architects; Nathan Goldsworthy of Goldsworthy; Tim Webber of Tim Webber Design; Simon James of Resident; Nigel Groom and Emma Fox-Derwin of Well-Groomed Fox; and Timothy John of Timothy John Design. They were photographed by Toaki Okano at Auckland's White Studios on May 7.
And now to the objects in our competition. The winner of the 2014 Design Awards is Cheshire Architects for the 'Parison' pendant for Resident (below), an elegant mix of the hand-made and the digital (it's made when a bubble of layered molten glass is mouth-blown into a computer-cut mould of water-soaked cherrywood). The pendant has already debuted at the Milan furniture fair as part of the Resident collection, and we're delighted to feature it here.
And here are our other finalists, in no particular order: first, the 'Pi' table (below) by Paris-based designer Roderick Fry, an ingeniously simple trestle leg system that flat-packs for shipping but holds a range of table tops with perfect stability.
Nathan Goldsworthy's beautiful 'Ballet' chairs and 'Ballerina' tables (below) were produced as part of a collaboration with Backhouse Interiors and Designworks. The chairs and table are crafted from laminated ash, and the chairs are upholstered in wool.
Emma Fox-Derwin and Nigel Groom of Wellington's Well-Groomed Fox created the handsome 'Notch' pendant lights (below), which have a raw, matte depth thanks to their colour being part of the ceramic rather than a glaze applied later.
Designer Timothy John created the 'Handmade' range (below) - which includes the 'Bowler' light, 'Splay' table and 'Nordic' chair - for Paper Plane, the design store he co-owns in Mount Maunganui. All the designs are hand-crafted by Nigel Cotterill. The chair and light are made from solid American ash, and the table is available in ash or laminate versions.
Auckland-based Tim Webber created the 'Duffle' ottoman, a sturdy piece of furniture that references the classic bag. It's upholstered in wool with a simple rope drawstring.
Last but certainly not least is Simon James' 'Pick Up Sticks' chair for Resident, with a solid oak frame and detachable, wool-upholstered component, allowing retailers to stock the frames and the wool seats to be made to order.
A huge thank you from us to all the designers who entered, and congratulations to the team at Cheshire Architects and the other finalists. We're also delighted at the support Fisher & Paykel are giving to New Zealand design by supporting our awards programme.
Our shoot was photographed by Toaki Okano, and styled by Kendyl Middelbeek and Samantha Totty. You can read more details about the entrants in our special winter issue of the magazine.