Miff Furniture Design Competition Raises the Bar

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Malaysia's top furniture design contest, MIFF FurnitureDesign Competition (MIFF FDC) makes a return with a brand new theme this year - 'Living Furniture, Global Perspective.' To officially kick things off, a 'Behind-the-Design' workshop was successfully held today by the organisers and welcomed approximately 200 participants from higher learning institutions and design firms at the Putra World Trade Centre.

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In an attempt to highlight the uniqueness of Malaysian wooden furniture, this year's competition requires the product designs to be centered on the material. This latest initiative has been further bolstered with an official announcement of Malaysian Timber Council (MTC)'s collaboration to sponsor the 2015 MIFF FDC earlier today.

Dato' Tan Chin Huat, Chairman of MIFF, expressed his delight at the partnership: "This is a strong endorsement of the importance and credibility of the competition for the Malaysian furniture industry and the timber sector as well."

"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," Dato' Tan said.

At the same time, Datuk Yeo Heng Hau, Chief Executive Officer of MTC, said, "The competition offers the perfect platform for young designers to showcase their innovative talent, gain invaluable exposure in the industry as well as key insights from experts in the field."

The MIFF FDC 'Behind-the-Design' workshop was tailored to provide useful insights on utilising wood in furniture. Competition chief judge, Mr Philip Yap, started off the workshop with a captivating presentation entitled 'Creative Design from Nature's Bounty', followed by Dr. Wong Tuck Meng, Director of Timber Industry Development Division of MTC's talk on 'Timber for furniture - Its Limit is Your Imagination.'

The workshop also included a furniture showcase featuring products from five leading Malaysian furniture manufacturers (Jemaramas Jaya, Inception Design & Trading, Kinheng Furniture, Gamma Wood, and Lencasa) for attendees to obtain an added hands-on experience. With each company's representative present, the attendees were able to interact and address their queries to the manufacturers themselves.

The annual MIFF FDC is now open for entries where the closing date of entry submission is on 10 October 2014. Already in its 6th year, the industry's leading competition is poised to top last years' record of 244 entries.

Malaysians and foreigners/students residing in Malaysia under the age of 30 are eligible to enter the competition. The finalist designs would be prototyped and displayed at the next MIFF, which is a global top 10 industry show, scheduled from 3 to 7 March 2015 at Putra World Trade Centre and Matrade Exhibition & Convention Centre.

The winner of MIFF FDC 2015 will walk away with RM10,000 followed by RM5,000 and RM2,500 for the second and third placed respectively, while other finalists will be awarded RM500 each.

For more information on the competition or the workshop, please visit www.mifffdc.com.

Notes to Editors

1. About MIFF (www.miff.com.my)

Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) is an export-oriented furniture trade show held annually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is also a global leading trade show approved by UFI, The Global Association for Exhibition Industry. Since 1995, MIFF has nurtured invaluable partnerships between thousands of buyers and furniture makers across the globe.

2. About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 30 offices and over 1,400 staff in 25 major cities. We operate in 21 market sectors with 160 exhibitions, 75 conferences, 28 trade publications, 18 vertical portals and virtual event services for over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.