KUCHING: Sarawak Design Centre (Saradec) has received a total of RM6,104,150 in trade enquiry during the first day of the inaugural FIND – Design Fair Asia in Singapore which is held from Sept 22 to 24.
According to Saradec in a statement, the figure exceeds the Sarawak-based company’s expected RM5 million in trade enquiry for the entire three-day event.
Saradec’s booth, which showcases unique furniture designed by talents from its Sarawak Young Designers (SayD’Signers Sarawak) programme as well as products from its SayD’Signers Sarawak Link and Match (SLIM) incubator programme, attracted more than 500 international buyers consisting mainly of businesses, architects, as well as interior designers looking for furniture designs that are one-of-a-kind.
“Visitor response has been very encouraging, with comments such as ‘very unique furniture and designs’, and ‘awesome with high quality wood’,” it said.
A representative from Williams-Sonoma Singapore, a renowned retailer of kitchenware and home furnishings also said that the furniture displayed at Saradec’s booth had amazing designs.
It added a fair number of visitors to Saradec’s booth and they have expressed interest in future collaborations.
Saradec’s exhibition booth is located at B21, FIND – Design Fair Asia at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
Also present at the fair was Saradec Management Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Dayang Nena Abang Bruce.
Saradec is a production house to produce young furniture design talents and creative designs in Sarawak to be accepted and recognised globally.
Meanwhile, SayD’SignersSarawak is a premier training programme developed by Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).
It is a two-year programme for fresh graduates in Industrial Design from Unimas, incorporating a specially customised curriculum developed by Indonesia’s Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and the programme has successfully carved a career path in furniture design for young designers since 2018.
Whereas for the SLIM programme which was introduced in January 2022, is a design entrepreneurship pioneer programme by Saradec aimed at getting Sarawak’s young designers involved in the local crafts and furniture industries, particularly in the area of new product development to compete in domestic and international markets.
SLIM is the second module of Saradec’s incubator programme that started in October 2021. The incubator programme, as a whole, is a one-year programme to provide the SayD’Signers with all the necessary entrepreneurial skills and knowledge they need.
The inaugural SLIM programme linked and matched the first, second, and third batch of SayD’SignersSarawak with some of the leading furniture companies that are members of Sarawak Furniture Industry Association (SFIA) as well as STIDC vendors.
