Winner: Emerging designer of the year. Helsinki-based Didi NG Wing Yin.

After completing a masters in interior architecture from Aalto University in 2023, he specialised in woodworking in both sculptural and functional furniture and objects.

Yin's work focuses on craftsmanship and emphasising wood's honest and natural materiality, through conceptual thinking, experimental surface treatment and carving techniques.

He recently presented a collection of "down to earth" timber furniture at Helsinki Design Week.

Judges comments: "Didi Ng Wing Yin is pushing the boundaries of woodworking." said the judges. 

"In 2023, the designer made a splash at Finland's annual Habitare furniture fair with his experimental timber furniture and homeware, ranging from intricately pleated vases to a chunky hot pink bench and a lampshade made of delicate wood shavings." they continued. 

"Ng has co-founded Minestrone Workshop, a collective of creatives based in Helsinki's Vallila neighbourhood who are testing the limits of timber. Whether attempting to carve a delicate wooden "feather" or giving leftover spruce bark a new life as a lumpy chair, Ng is a rising talent committed to exploring the natural material's endless possibilities."