The regional Joinery and Design Awards (JADA) 2022 offer local Master Joiners the opportunity to showcase the very best of their work in front of their peers. Registered Master Joiners bring innovation to the joinery industry. They encourage competition and the pursuit of excellence between, and from, its members, their employees, and apprentices.
First held regionally in 2015, to help boost the confidence of local joinery companies prior to entering nationwide events, the awards recognise local excellence in joinery, innovation and design, and encourage the use of best sustainable practice. Philip Thompson who established the awards back in 2015 is the association secretary of Nelson Marlborough Master Joiners and branch manager of Laminex NZ, and says the awards are about recognising quality and innovation in the industry of which members can then celebrate with customers. “Exterior and interior joinery are premium products which require a level of protection to enhance the properties of the products. It is therefore important that you take your time in selecting who designs, manufactures, and advises on care and maintenance. Master joiners bring that to the construction industry.”
Philip says since its inception the awards have been going from strength to strength. The event has grown in numbers from just 14 entries in its first year, to 158 entries in 2022, “Both the numbers and the quality has increased year after year.” Entries are considered by three carefully selected and independent judges. They are critiqued on the level of workmanship displayed, the use of materials, the complexity of the project, and its overall visual appeal. The winner of each category was announced and presented with an award at the event on May 14, at The Granary at Founders Park in Nelson which was attended by many from the local building industry, joiners and designers.
Philip is proud of the level of craftsmanship being created in the region. “It continues to amaze me the standard of work across the industry, true craftsmen, amazing designers, and such innovative cool stuff being made. The concept behind the awards was to get the local industry to peek their heads over the parapet and celebrate what amazing work they do. I had no idea that the industry would grow and gain such confidence in what they do and how they celebrate their work. The professionalism and the attention to detail is truly recognised as the best in New Zealand. Nelson Marlborough performing so well on a national scale - it is great to be a part of.”
Once again, the quality of entries for the 2022 round of awards has been outstanding. Sustainability came to the fore with the use of materials sourced in New Zealand that still provided a global feel.
Bays Joinery won the Myles Sellers Supreme Award for their kitchen renovation which brought new life to a 15-year-old home, creating visual interest and impact by using a combination of contrasting materials and textures. This kitchen also won the award for Best Kitchen, while another Bays Joinery entry won the award for Best Kitchen under $50,000.
A touching tribute in honour of a great master craftsman
A special mention about this year, is the renaming of the original Supreme Award to The Myles Sellers Award. The award categories cover all aspects of joinery including spatial solutions, creative lighting and colour use, kitchen design, best apprentice, emerging designer, and customer journey, and the most poignant one of the evening is the Myles Sellers Supreme Award, sponsored by Nelson Pine Industries. Only a category winner can compete for the Myles Sellers Supreme Award.
Hugely talented and dearly loved by all, Myles Sellers was greatly passionate about the industry. He worked tirelessly with Philip to bring much-needed recognition, appreciation and change to the industry. He was involved in developing the concept of the awards and supported the idea of JADA to help lift the standard of local joinery and help give members a much-needed boost in confidence.
Widely respected both personally and in his chosen field, Myles was appointed to National Education Strategy Leader for the New Zealand National Master Joiners Association in August 2020. This was a role where he excelled immensely, using the opportunity to exhibit his dedication to apprenticeship training and setting higher standards for business learning opportunities tailored to the joinery industry. “The Supreme Award has been renamed in Myles’ honour, says Philip, “It is something he loved and promoted.”
Much thought and care went into creating a trophy for the Myles Sellers Supreme Award, ensuring that it reflected Myles’ personality, his values, the respect he had for the joinery industry, and the respect those in the building industry had for him.
Made of rimu, and sitting on a totara base, it was created to simulate a traditional mere - a symbol of chieftainship; a chisel to represent his craft; and a paddle to recognise his association with rowing.
Myles often referred to joiners as ‘the rock stars of the building industry’ and so a five-pointed star sits prominently on the base. Made from Corian which was Myles favourite benchtop choice, the two black arms of the star represent a balance of work and life, while the three white arms represent the three most important things in his life – his girls; wife Margarette and daughters, Olivia and Hollie.
