Taiping Blue (太平藍), a Taichung-based brand of indigo dye crafts, has captured one of the top awards at this year's International Furniture Fair Singapore.
The IFFS Best Decor Award is presented to three categories - soft furnishing, handicraft and handcrafted, and decorative accessories. The recipient in each category are respectively Japan's Takaokaya, Taiwan's Watersource Cultural and Educational Foundation, and Portugal's Herdmar.
The award takes into account originality of the design, aesthetics, and creative quality; sustainability of the material in relation to its availability, safety, durability, and respect for the environment; the potential marketability and economic value sustainable by the market; and functionality based on the actual use of the product for its intended purpose.
Watersource Cultural and Educational Foundation (水源地文教基金會) established Taiping Blue in 2012 on the following principles - heritage preservation of Hakka handicrafts, environmental conservation by using natural dyes, and enhancement of quality of life through everyday aesthetics.
Taiping Blue offers handmade scarves, totes, shirts, and stationary like fabric-covered notebooks. The all-natural plant source of this indigo dye is made from an herbaceous, perennial variety known as Strobilanthes cusia (大菁). Find out more at www.facebook.com/TaipingBlue.
The Taiwan pavilion at International Furniture Fair Singapore.