Johannesburg - A final-year student at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Tshepiso Motau, 21, designed an eye-catching and colourful room divider with Ndebele patterns inspired by the internationally acclaimed artist Dr Esther Mahlangu.
At a ceremony held by the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (the dtic) on Tuesday at the Buy Local Summit in Johannesburg, the industrial design student from Centurion was named the Furniture Design Competition winner.
According to the department, the room divider can be folded and has shelves that can be put together and taken apart, according to the available area.
Motau was one of the five finalists that created original furniture in keeping with the competition's theme this year, "Local is Lekker."
The annual competition was organised by the dtic in partnership with key industry stakeholders such as the South African Furniture Initiative.
"It is one of the Furniture Industry Masterplan programmes aimed at promoting design skills in the furniture industry. The main objectives of the competition are to raise and nurture design capabilities in the country, raise the image of the furniture manufacturing industry in South Africa, and grow the industry’s competitiveness by encouraging new product design and differentiation," the dtic said.
After the results were announced, Motau said she was surprised by the victory because she had expected to place lower in the top three after seeing the work of the other students.
"In fact, to me, being in the top five was a mammoth victory worth celebrating. I really derived pride, joy, and contentment from just being one of the finalists. Being crowned the winner of a national furniture design competition of this magnitude in my first attempt was really the cherry on top of the cake. I am extremely excited and lost for words," said Motau.
She said that continuing her education would be her first goal. Before considering a full-time job as a furniture designer and producer, she would like to finish her honours degree in industrial design.
"However, as the winner, Motau has an enviable opportunity to hone her furniture design skills further. She romped home with a six-month stint in a Furntech Furniture Business Technology Incubator Programme and an internship with Homewood Furniture, which were two of her prizes for winning. She was also rewarded with a laptop by Lewis Furniture," the dtic said.
The Star