Women In Industrial Design Contest

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31762, 20 August 1968, Page 2

Women In Industrial Design Contest

Six women designers, two from Canterbury, are among the more than 180 finalists in the Rothman’s industrial design awards for 1968.

This is not an arts and crafts contest The work has been selected because it is suitable for mass production, and possibly export It will compete with everything from electrical equipment to children’s toys. Results of the contest which has been organised to stimulate Interest in improving the design, style, and presentation of New Zealand manufactured goods, will be announced in Auckland on December 2.

One of the judges is a woman—Professor Patricia Coleman, dean of the Home Science Faculty at the University of Otago, and a member of the New Zealand Industrial Design Council. Among the products designed by women is a gay range of coloured rag dolls created by Mrs M. Thompson, of Darfield. These are popular with teen-agers as mascots and bedrooms decorations.

An occupational therapist at Princess Margaret Hospital, Miss P. Gregory, has developed a dinner plate with an upturned lip. During her work with aged and invalid people she observed their need for a plate that would enable them to eat easily and with dignity. A collection of paua and sterling silver jewellery by Mrs I. Hudlg, of Wellington, includes necklaces, brooches, a bracelet, and a double-face drop earring. For more than a year Mrs J. Kingston, of Wellington, has been producing a range of knit-wear with Maori motif decoration. The garments are being sold in five countries overseas and are very popular with tourists in New Zealand. Demand from Australia and

the United States has prompted Mrs Kingston to include a lurex knit in her range of traditional colours. Packaging is a progressing industry in New Zealand and a woman has reached the finals in this field. Mrs N. Browning, of Auckland, has designed a strong and attractive carrying bag for wine—an improvement of the usual utility brown-paper bag. The entries are displayed in three cars of a train which will travel throughout the country. The exhibition train will be at Timaru from September 7, arriving in Ashburton on September 10, and in Christchurch the next day. It leaves the city on September 22 and will spend the next two days in Kaikoura and Blenheim.