The Conran Shop is delighted to announce Cameron Rowley as the winner of the inaugural Designer of the Future Award.
The Award was launched this year, following the sad passing of The Conran Shop’s iconic founder Sir Terence Conran in 2020. At £40,000, the Designer of the Future Award is the highest-value award in British design. Together with a paid internship and cash prize of £3,000, this investment will be used to develop and market Rowley’s design into an exclusive retail product.
Sir Terence discovered, developed and nurtured a vast array of talented new designers, providing them with both a retail platform, mentorship and support. Establishing The Conran Shop’s Designer of the Future Award will ensure that his passion and commitment to unearthing the designers of tomorrow lives on.
Rowley, 23, a recent Kingston University graduate, succeeded thanks to his unique, useful and uplifting design, the One Step Ladder.
Rowley said of his winning design: “When using step stools and ladders around the house, it is usually for a very brief moment and with only one step. I wanted to create an object that facilitated this behaviour while maintaining a smaller footprint. My ladder is a domestic tool, inspired by objects of use. Borrowing features from utilitarian tools and other implements, it is for use around the house; retrieving items from tall kitchen cabinets or dusting cobwebs from the ceiling. Like its derivative objects, its beauty is a consequence of its process and function.”
The One Step Ladder was chosen over 97 entries and 11 other finalists by the Award’s panel of esteemed judges, Lord Norman Foster, Anya Hindmarch, Narmina Marandi, Stephen Briars (The Conran Shop’s Chief Creative Officer), Henrietta Klug (Buying and Merchandising Director), Campbell Thompson (Head of Furniture and Lighting) and The Conran Shop’s Product Developer, Huw Evans.
The Conran Shop’s Designer of the Future Award is supported by The Conran Shop and The Marandi Foundation, a key provider of training and educational opportunities for young people and disadvantaged communities in the UK. The Award aims to offer exposure and development to the most talented young creatives in product design. The Marandi family acquired The Conran Shop from Sir Terence Conran in March 2020, with the legendary founder continuing in his role as chairman right up until his death.
Javad Marandi said: “Sir Terence was a trailblazer and an innovator. Admired all over the world, he was a great British success story and was responsible for ushering in a bold new era of contemporary design. The Award will help enable future generations of new designers to prosper and uphold the traditions he set.”
