Dezeen Magazine

Made.com competition offers emerging designers opportunity to realise and sell their products

Dezeen promotion: online brand Made.com is inviting budding designers to submit furniture and homeware designs for compact urban dwellings to its annual Emerging Talent Award 2016 competition.

Made.com is asking designers to create space-saving furniture for smaller homes, designs that enable multitasking or products that create a peaceful home setting. The winner will see their design put into production and sold on Made.com.

Made competition
Josie Morris was the winner of the 2013 Emerging Talent Awards with her Range table collection

"The Emerging Talent Award is a great opportunity for any fledgling designers wanting to kickstart their career in a notoriously tough industry," said Made.com head of design Ruth Wassermann.

"Seeking new talent is a hugely important part of our brand ethos, and one which we will continue to build on."

The Emerging Talent Award competition launched during this year's Milan design week. Open to applicants across Europe, it searches for new lighting, furniture, upholstery, textile and accessory design. The deadline for entries is Sunday 17 July 2016 and the winning design will be announced during this year's London Design Festival.

Made competition
The solid oak tables feature accents of copper and have become Made.com bestsellers

All designs are reviewed by a judging panel that includes Ruth Wassermann, Made.com CEO Ning Li, and lifestyle brand Nor-Folk co-founder Fiona Burrage. The panel will create a shortlist of entries, but the public will vote to choose the overall winner.

This is the fourth edition of the annual competition. Previous winners include Josie Morris's Range tables, which won the 2013 competition and have become Made.com bestsellers. They were released in three additional colours due to popular demand.

"I'm thrilled with how well my collection has sold online," said Morris. "It just goes to show that the public really put faith in the competition, and vote for what they'd buy."

Made competition
The Overlap Storage by Ivana Mannavola and Nicola Lattanzi was the winner of the 2015 competition

The 2014 winner, Ying Chang's modular system of furniture, is based on a two-dimensional grid system used for architectural drawing and graphic design.

"Made.com is committed to finding the best design talent in Europe, which includes young designers starting out on their career," said Ning Li.

"Our customers are always looking for the latest and greatest in design and the Emerging Talent Award allows us to bring that to them."

www.made.com