Canadian furniture contest seeking entries
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, October 2, 2005
Mississauga, Ontario — Manufacturers have until Nov. 1 to submit entries in the 2006 Canadian Home Furnishings Awards competition.
Organized by the Ontario Furniture Manufacturers Assn., the competition recognizes excellence in the design, construction and marketing of Canadian-made household furniture.
A panel of retailers will judge the entries Jan. 12–13, 2006, prior to the Toronto winter market, and winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Sunday, Jan. 15.
"Canadian manufacturers continue to be among the world's best producers of well-designed and quality-built household furniture. This program helps promote that fact to retailers not only in Canada but in the Unites States and around the world," said Laine Reynolds, chairman of OFMA and vice president of sales for Superstyle Furniture.
Reynolds was chairman of the CHFA competition steering committee for four-and-a-half years.
Some 113 entries were received for the 2005 competition. The top award, the Grand Medallion, went for the third consecutive year to Normand Couture, chief design officer of Sofas International, a Shermag division.
Entries are evaluated on design, construction and marketability to determine their overall value to the consumer. The entry with the highest score in its category wins a CHFA Medallion. The entry with the highest overall score, regardless of category, receives the Grand Medallion.
"The competition is open to all residential furniture manufacturers in Canada, and only product made in Canada is eligible for consideration," Reynolds said.
An entry package has been sent to all members of OFMA, Furniture West and the Quebec Furniture Manufacturers Assn., and to hundreds of other manufacturers nationwide. Membership in a factory association isn't required.
Each of the 17 categories in the competition is divided into three sub-categories based on Canadian wholesale prices: popular, premium and prestige. A fourth sub-category, platinum, has been added in fabric upholstery suites. All case goods categories include ready-to-assemble furniture. There must be a minimum of two entries in order for the competition to proceed in a category.
The 17 categories are casual dining/dinettes, formal dining, home office, home entertainment/wall systems, sleep products, dual-purpose upholstery (including futons), adult bedroom, juvenile/youth bedroom, accent/occasional furniture, accent/occasional upholstery, upholstered chairs (stationary), motion chairs, motion upholstery, fabric upholstered suites, leather upholstered suites, showood chairs and marketing concepts, which promote a product or group to retailers and/or consumers.
Cost to enter is C$399, plus the goods and services tax.
A catalog of all entries will be distributed to everyone attending the January Toronto market. A special publication saluting the winners is published before the April High Point market.
For more information, contact David Hanna, OFMA president, at (905) 677-6561 or by e-mail at dhanna@ofma.ca. Entry forms are available at www.canadianhomefurnishingsawards.ca.
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