Calling All Designers! Enter The 2017 Future Makers Awards

Online entries are now open for the annual Future Makers Awards, a?chance for budding creatives for both?funding and recognition.?We caught up with two past?beneficiaries to hear how they found it.

Textile designer Fiona White was awarded with the last year’s Material Support Prize, enabling her to create a painterly collection of aprons and tea towels. ?By combining my love for textiles and food, I design printed textiles for the contemporary eating environment. The pieces promote the Slow Living movement and encourage friends and family to take time to spend around the table.? Fiona sees The Future Maker Award as a kickstart to a budding design career. ?It provides a great opportunity for emerging designers to showcase their work at a national level, as well as instilling confidence to pursue a career in design in both Ireland and further afield.?

Winner of the 2016 Push the Limits award, Dublin fashion designer R?is?n Pierce creates pieces that challenge the boundaries of conventional textiles. ?My work has an emphasis on radical fabric manipulation, underpinned by traditional techniques and notions of construction.? She found the competition to be an excellent platform for young people in Irish design. ?Future Makers gives young creative people an opportunity to continue their practice in Ireland. The awarded money was very beneficial, but also it is very encouraging to be recognised from such an expert design panel.?

Launched in 2009, the main objective of The Future Makers Awards is to celebrate the next generation of Irish designers. This year’s prize fund totals €24,500 and there is no entry fee. Finalists? work will be judged by by a spectrum of Irish design talent, from stylist Aisling Farinella to designer-maker Michael Eden. The closing date for applications is Friday, April 21, 2017. See FutureMakers.ie for more info.