Once again, James Latham, the UK’s leading independent timber, panels and decors distributors has supported, Rycotewood College, a pioneering furniture school (part of Activate Learning, Oxford), with its annual student competition. Now in the fifth year of this partnership, the latest collaboration has resulted in some of the most ingenious and unusual entries to date.
James Latham, a long-time champion of the UK furniture industry, provided quantities of innovative solid surface HIMACS® and pioneering full-colour MDF Valchromat™ on which the entrants’ imaginations could run wild. Similar to previous years, a specific brief was given; to create a visually striking, yet highly-functional storage item – concentrating the creative juices and establishing a like-for-like benchmark to assist the judging.
Material Evolution
What distinguished the 2025 competition was the remarkable evolution in the students’ understanding and application of both materials. In just a few years, their ability to manipulate, cut, carve and shape both HIMACS and Valchromat has dramatically increased.
This is doubly impressive considering that, in the first year of using these materials, even the college’s tutors were uncertain about their capabilities when working with these modern materials. Now, students are creating applications that impress and, occasionally, surprise industry veterans.
As Stuart Devoil, Group Head of Marketing at James Latham and one of the competition’s principal adjudicators says, “I’ve been bowled over for the fifth year running. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, and there have been some pretty breathtaking and unusual entries to date, the students deliver even more outstanding craftsmanship. But more importantly, they demonstrate a different level of thinking. They look at materials with an entirely original approach and fresh perspective, not bound by the restraints of convention nor the work of previous entrants.”
The competition’s top honours went to Toby Bradshaw (HIMACS category) and Merrick Martins (Valchromat category), who shared first place for their innovative storage solutions.
Erupting with Innovation
Toby Bradshaw stretched HIMACS to the very limits of its potential, to showcase the strength and versatility of this incredible material, developing a chiselling technique to create a never-before-seen volcanic effect on the surface of the material.
Devoil continues, “Some of the designs this year used techniques and approaches that were truly pioneering. When I spoke to HIMACS’s Jim Mackenzie, who has been working with Solid Surfaces for 22 years and follows this competition with keen interest, he told me he’d never seen anything like it..”
Raising the Bar
Merrick Martins’s piece showcased exceptional craftsmanship with Valchromat, creating a sculptural storage unit with seamless joinery and a striking colour gradient.
Working it Out
Runner-up Eli Al-Baho impressed the judges with his technically innovative piece.
The Future of British Furniture Design
Josh Hudson, Furniture Lead, Rycotewood College says: “Giving students the opportunity to showcase their furniture is a fantastic opportunity for them. It gives us immense pride to be supported and work with such a fantastic company and to give our students the opportunity to experience new materials and challenge the norm.”
