The winners of the UK graduate exhibition New Designers Part 2 awards were announced at the opening of the show on Wednesday night, with Tortie Hoare being awarded the New Designer of the Year prize for her boiled leather furniture (above).

See more projects from this year’s graduate shows in special category.

Captions are from New Designers (apologies for the lack of information on some of the winners):

The BDC New Designer of the Year: Tortie Hoare, BA (HONS) Furniture, Design and Craftsmanship, Bucks New University.

Project: Leatherwork Furniture Collection

The judges celebrated Tortie’s ‘innovation, personal passion and an incredible sensitivity to materials which has reinvented a lost process from medieval times to produce an outstanding collection of contemporary furniture.’

Now, instead of trying to find a job, Tortie has decided to pursue her leatherwork and see where it takes her.

She will be spending some of the prize monies on leather for a new collection.

“I have never had a reaction like this,’ said Tortie. ‘I have been shocked by the interest. With all of my furniture I have used the process of forming leather to dictate the piece. It was not until I came across the French medieval process of boiled leather that I could create solid, strong forms in an eco-friendly way. “

The BDC New Designer Of The Year – Runner Up: Kevin Scott, Bsc (Hons) Industrial Design, De Montfort University

Project: Collapsable Bicycle

The judges awarded this prize to ‘encourage the further development of this unique and striking idea.’

Kevin has ambitions to ‘develop the product either through university, industry sponsor, or ideally a partnership between the two.’ Of his award he said, ‘this has validated how I feel about the product; it’s a justification of the uniqueness of the design and the possibilities for taking it further.'

'I intend to use the prize monies to outsource production of some of the key components to allow for full testing. I am now going to take this forward to produce a fully resolved solution and hopefully this will be a stepping stone into a career in the bike designing industry.’

The New Designers 100% Design Award: James Michael Shaw, Ba (Hons) Product And Furniture Design, Kingston University

Project: ‘Socket Light & Spun’

The judges remarked on his ‘good process; strong use of industrial materials which is original and utilitarian. James demonstrated passion and drive to succeed as a commercial designer.’

‘I am passionate about keeping the art of spinning alive as it is, like much British industry, dying out. I worked with a sixth generation spinner on my collection,’ explained James.

He wants to set up a shop and design consultancy with a colleague from his course. Meanwhile in the lead up to 100% Design in September he says, ‘I will endeavour to make my stand as good as possible and develop my designs and products ready for September. It’s a fantastic opportunity – it’s the biggest show of its kind. I am overwhelmed to have won and feel like all the hard work has paid off.’

The New Designers Virgin Atlantic Airways Award: Rich Pearson, Ma Industrial Design, Sheffield Hallam University

Project: ‘Challenging Consumption’

The judges admired, ‘the gripping sustainable manifesto, followed through with great passion, care and a strong designer’s eye.’

Talking about his ambitions, Rich says, “I want to pursue connections with companies I can work with in creating my designs and new work. The work placement with Virgin Atlantic Airways will give me an invaluable insight into commercial design.” He plans to use the prize of two tickets on VAA to undertake cultural research to observe the way different cultures and societies behave towads possible alternatives to material re-processing. “I want to invoke thoughts and discussion regarding what we regard as ‘useless’ or ‘waste’.”

The New Designers Sky Award: Yui Waraporn Who Has Completed A Foundation Degree In Design New College Nottingham.

Project: ‘Second Life’

The judges cited ‘the approach to ‘second life’ is creative, inspirational, intrinsic and applicable across multiple areas. It is a unique creative direction to illustration and design, with a fundamental green ethos from someone at the beginning of their design education.’

Remarking on her success, Yui Waraporn said, ‘I am looking forward to my work experience with Sky Creative, and then I plan to do a top up degree. I hope to find some work placements over the summer. The award will concentrate my focus as I feel I need to up my game. It’s great for New College Nottingham, as last year Rhiannon Collins won the same award.’

The New Designers Hallmark Cards Award: Alison Mehta, Bdes (Hons) Graphic Design, Duncan Of Jordanstone University.

Project: Graphic Design

The judges remarked, ‘Alison is an enthusiastic and focussed Graphic Designer. She has created some outstanding 3D, typographic and packaging solutions. Her ability to work within a team as well as by herself shows she would fit in well within the Hallmark studio.’

Alison is delighted with her success and is aiming to obtain a job within the creative industry, specialising in print. She said, ‘I want to do something fun and quirky. I love working in a team, bouncing ideas off each other and sharing - to be selected out of so many amazingly talented designers gives me hope. I want to thank Ian Ritch who jointly collaborated on this project with me.’

The New Designers One Year On Award – Part 2: Hannah Davies, Graphic Designer And Illustrator

The judges commented, ‘when judging One Year On, we are looking beyond the product to best identify the commitment and professional application shown by the designer. Hannah explored a range of potentially lucrative opportunities, but has chosen to pursue a more focussed path closer to her original intentions. She has set herself clear new objectives and is on course to achieve them.’

Hannah is determined to push herself further, give up her part-time job managing a small jewellers 3 days a week, and concentrate more on her designs and prints. and would like to sign up with an agent. She intends to put her prize monies (£500) towards another exhibition and maybe a course related to illustration and children’s illustration as her degree was in Surface Design. She said, ‘My main reason for coming this week was to gain experience and inspiration from everyone here; to seek advice from my colleagues and the judges. It has been an eye-opener talking to the judges about how I should price my work and I have gained invaluable business knowledge by participating in One Year On.’

The New Designers Best Stand Award: University Of Creative Arts, Rochester

The judges delighted in the ‘simple, quirky stand bringing to life the connection between the original sketches and computer generated imagery.’

On behalf of UCA Rochester, senior lecturer Phil Gomm said, ‘Our stand is an attempt to put the artist/maker back to the foreground and display that our students are all immensely talented fine artists. We wanted to change conceptions about the role of the computer.’