Brother Opens Search for Brightest Young NZ Talent

Media Release 25 June 2014

Brother Opens Search for Brightest Young NZ Talent

Leading New Zealand sewing and print brand, Brother, is set to launch a national sewing and craft competition to find and encourage bright, young, creative Kiwi talent.

Open to those in years 7 to 13, Brother Design Stars will officially launch on 30 June, 2014. From this date entrants can register online and enter one of two categories, with winners and finalists grabbing a share of a $10,000 prize pool.

The launch of Brother Design Stars marks an exciting time for Brother NZ, who is committed to building an iconic annual competition for intermediate and secondary school students.

“As industry leaders in sewing we’re very aware of the move toward handmade and DIY and want to encourage future generations to pick up the art of sewing, craft and embroidery. This resurgence is here to stay, and Brother is excited to be at the forefront of this exciting move,” Brother COO, Matthew Stroud, said.

“We intend to build these awards significantly over the next few years, while retaining an overall aim of fostering a love of sewing and craft from a young age, and giving young people an outlet to be creative and showcase their talent nationally,” Stroud said.

From an overall theme of ‘Use Old, Create New’ entrants are encouraged to recycle, reuse and repurpose materials from everyday life. The theme runs across both categories; the Brother Design Stars Craft Award and the Brother Design Stars Fashion Award.

The Brother Design Stars Craft Award requires entrants to create a unique and eye-catching hot water bottle cover from a simple, downloadable Brother template. This category will appeal to those who love craft, art and DIY projects and who have a fun and imaginative mind.

The Brother Design Stars Fashion Award will appeal to those who are fashion savvy, follow trends and love to express their individual fashion style. Entrants must create a ready-to-wear fashion item or outfit that incorporates up-cycled or reused materials.

As well as two supreme awards for the fashion and craft categories (selected by a panel of judges), the public will also get their say with The 4:30Show People’s Choice Award. The award will be driven on-air and through the show’s website www.the430show.co.nz.

“The 4.30 Show has been creating crafts each week on screen across our 2014 season. We are very excited to see that Brother acknowledges this popular past time that our audience enjoy so much,” Producer of The 4:30 Show, Emma Gribble, said.

“We can’t wait to see hundreds of hot water bottle designs and fashion based re-creations made by our very own Kiwi Kids. And, it’s so great that our viewers can vote for their favourites too!”

Our finalists and supreme winners will be in to win over $10,000 worth of prizes, including a trip to Auckland, shopping gift cards, Brother sewing machines and ScanNCuts for themselves and their school, Creme magazine subscriptions and much more. The winning designs will also feature onThe 4.30pm Show.

Registrations for Brother Design Stars open on Monday 30 June 2014. Entrants can register from this date at www.brotherdesignstars.co.nz.

Registrations close on Friday 22 August with all physical entries received for judging by 5pm Friday 5 September 2014. Winners will be announced early October.

ENDS

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