Page 16 - Designing Ways 302

KSA

KSA update,

May 2026.

CT student and young
designers day Young Designers' event

upporting new talent in the industry
and encouraging the next generation
Sof designers is something the KSA
feels very passionately about. In May we
joined forces with the IID to host the
Young Designers event and our Cape
Town Student Conversations.
The KSA and IID continue to grow
their relationship. Both organisations are
aligned in their belief in giving back to
the industry and taking a leadership role
in education, support and growth for our
industries. We have found that we have a
synergy and that our collaboration makes
our offerings stronger. Young Designers' event Young Designers' event
We started with the Young Designers
event hosted at Angel Shack at the
Foreshore. The focus of the event was to
get your designers working in the industry Young Designers' event
in the same space to share stories and talk
opportunities. It was fantastic to see so
many young designers from the kitchen
and cabinetry sector there on the day.
We held three talks during the event
– ‘Designing with Empathy’ which was
a panel discussion which included KSA
national manager Stephanie Forbes, Kate
Wardle from Include Me and Charlene
le Roux from Blum, and looked at how
designing with empathy as they guide
impacts the experience, particularly for
those with hidden disabilities. We also
enjoyed Lisa Bridgeford from DHKI
taking us through her advice on avoiding
design creep, and then a discussion with
Monica Garcia from Rumour Has It and
Amore Strauss from Studio Monochrome
looking at the things they wish they had
known, and the mistakes that taught them
the most in their careers.
The student conversations event, hosted
by WOMAG/Mobelli, was a buzz of energy
from both the showcasing suppliers and the
students. While students got to explore the
huge WOMAG/Mobelli showrooms, they
also had an opportunity to interact with
representatives from Salvocorp, Loubser
Wood Components, Rubio Monocoat,
Grass, Max on Top and Blum.
Young Designers' event

16 Issue 302 • dw