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Butchoff Antiques has launched a contemporary design competition in collaboration with two top London design universities, The Cass and Kingston University.

Date: 1 May 2014

Butchoff Antiques has launched a contemporary design competition in collaboration with two top London design universities, The Cass and Kingston University to celebrate 50 years of dealing in the best 18^th and 19^th century antiques.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students from Kingston University and the London College of Furniture at The Cass, London Metropolitan University will compete for the prize which includes a substantial monetary contribution to materials and for their work to be unveiled at the prestigious LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair, which takes place in Berkeley Square, London, from 24 until 28 September.

The work will also be displayed in the Butchoff Antiques gallery window and the winning student will have Ian Butchoff’s expert advice and help to find a home for their modern masterpiece.

Eight students from The Cass and five students from Kingston University are currently working on their projects, ranging from jewellery cases and writing desks with incorporated laptop holders, to portable chess sets. In February they received briefs which emphasised the qualities of craftsmanship and expert design inspired by items shown by Butchoff Antiques. For inspiration, the students have also received guided tours of the Butchoff gallery and Titian Restoration Studios, the UK’s premier restoration and conservation studios.

Their works will be judged at the end of May by a panel of expert judges from the design industry. The winner will go on to make their piece between May and September, in time for the unveiling at the LAPADA Arts and Antiques Fair.

Ian Butchoff, the Director of Butchoff Antiques, whose father David Butchoff founded the business in 1964, wants to remind young furniture makers of the incredible craftsmanship from the 18^th and 19^th centuries and offer them a platform to create high quality contemporary works using inspiration from exhibition quality antiques.