The next Heimtextil  international trade fair for home and contract textiles, that will take place in Frankfurt from 8 – 11 January 2014, will once again draw attention to upcycling with the emphasis on young designers. With the ‘Young Creations Award: Upcycling’, Heimtextil calls on newcomers to the design world to create original upcycling articles for indoor use.

The second edition of the ‘Young Creations Award: Upcycling’ competition is following the successful première in January this year, at Heimtextil. The organisers are broadening the scope of the competition for the next year to include students from four German academies ‘Fachhochschule Aachen’, ‘Hochschule Coburg’, ‘Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart’ and ‘Kunsthochschule Weissensee’, who will take part presenting their creative projects and models at a special show.

Creative and sustainable

“Today, numerous fashion labels demonstrate the fantastic and high-grade products that can be created by upcycling”, said Carina Bischof, CEO and co-founder of the Upcycling Fashion Store in Berlin. “The interior design field also gives this kind of recycling the chance to launch creative and environmentally-friendly products.”

Carina Bischof, an expert for upcycling fashion, is a member of the new jury that will select the winner of a special award in addition to the winner chosen by Heimtextil exhibitors and visitors. The members of the jury also include Prof Auwi Stübbe of Coburger Designforum Oberfranken, Oliver Schübbe of OS2 Designgroup and Cora Francois of bestofdesign.org.

Award ceremony

The winner of the main award will be chosen by exhibitors on the eve of the fair, 7 January 2014. Trade visitors will also have the opportunity to cast their votes for the best projects the next day.

The presentation of the main and special awards will take place at the special exhibition in the Designer Area on 8 January. Both awards carry prize money of € 1,500 for each of the first-placed projects, which will also have the chance to go on show at the Upcycling Fashion Store in Berlin. Additionally, Heimtextil will present special awards worth a total of € 2,000.

www.heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com