Press release
March 31 2008
Seating furniture manufacturer JORI wins prestigious international Red Dot Award
Belgian seating furniture manufacturer JORI has just won the international Red Dot Award in the ‘product design’ category. Worldwide, the Red Dot Awards are one of the leading distinctions in the design and furniture industry, similar to the Oscars or the Palme D’Or for the movie industry.
JORI won first prize in the ‘Product Design’ category for its Chillap armchair. The Chillap is a single seat armchair in a striking design allowing the seat to be used for a wide variety of purposes. The jury duly rated the way in which the Chillap acts in response to contemporary home lifestyle trends, such as the use of durable materials and the mobility aspect (with the Chillap allowing for multifunctional use as a leisure or a professional piece of seating furniture).
Worldwide, the highly coveted Red Dot Award is one of the premier distinctions in the design industry. For the 2008 edition, no less than 3,200 designers from over 50 countries took part. Further information at www.chillap.com and www.red-dot.de.
Red Dot Award
Worldwide, the Red Dot Awards are one of the leading distinctions in the international design industry.
Red Dot rewards the best design from the previous year in four different categories: product design, communication design, design concept and design team of the year.
JORI won the Red Dot Award in the ‘Product Design’ category with its Chillap, one of the latest and most innovative designs from the West Flemish furniture manufacturer with head office in Wervik.
The jury duly rates the designs by dint of two marked trends which the Chillap powerfully symbolises. For one thing, there is the “ecological” trend which encourages the use of durable materials and there is the mobility trend, bestowing a variety of different functions onto a single object. With its high-grade materials and multipurpose nature, the Chillap stands as the perfect combination of these blossoming trends.
Chillap JR-9080
The Chillap is a separate occasional seat and one of the trendsetters as part of the JORI’s new range. The Chillap was designed by Verhaert New Products, the business operating from its Kruibeke head office (near Antwerp) which also enjoys particular renown for its applications in the aerospace industry.
Chillap provides a solution for demanding consumers looking for a multi-purpose armchair. The Chillap model rotates at 360°. The armpad is effortlessly switched from its regular position into horizontal position, allowing the armpad to be used as a laptop rest or as an armrest on which you can read a book, a magazine or a newspaper.
Moreover, the swivel capability allows the chair’s user to view every corner of the living room, finding himself in touch with the garden, family members, the television set, the open fire place, et cetera.
By virtue of its very considerable ease of use, the Chillap will be available to be produced in set series for the project market, with the armpad serving as a permanent support surface, making it eminently suited to be used as a piece of seating furniture in airports, hotels and conference rooms alike.
Reward for longstanding efforts
This is not the first time that JORI manages to hog the limelight of the international design and furniture industry with a conspicuous design. But it is the first time that JORI comes out winning the Red Dot Award.
Only recently, the West Flemish furniture manufacturer itself drew public attention with s.i.t., the international design competition staged by the company in various European countries and intended to attract new talent. The finals, which were presided over by a national and international top jury (Karim Rashid, Xavier Lust, Studio Vertijet, …), were held last December at the Atomium (www.jori.com/sit), drawing huge interest from the press. Now it is JORI’s turn to reap the rewards of triumph as part of an international design competition.
Juan Jorion, JORI founder and CEO:
“Obviously it is quite an honour to be able to accept this Award. I not only consider this Award as a token appreciation for our efforts that have gone into the Chillap, but every bit as much as the crowning achievement of the good work put in over many years by each and every single member of staff, from the designers to the people on the shop floor.”
“From the day JORI was incorporated in 1968 to the present, we have unrelentingly continued to pour investments in both human and technical capital. We are confident that Belgium continues to be a solid operating base to run a business such as ours in this region, and not to relocate to Eastern Europe or the Far East. Nowhere else will you find this unique combination of quality designers, high productivity and truly superior quality, the three key success factors in the JORI tale”.
Practical information
The Chillap armchair is available to be admired at any of JORI’s info centres, at any of JORI’s many dealerships across Europe, or at www.chillap.com. For the full list and detailed product information, please log on to www.jori.com.
For further information on the Red Dot Award, about JORI as a business and the other products in the JORI range, please contact Gudrun Goethals (JORI) at +32 56 31 35 01 or send a mail to gg@jori.com, and Matthias Meersschaert (Trimedia) at +32 2 713 07 35 or send a mail to mmeersschaert@trimedia.be.
Photographic material is available to be downloaded from:
www.jori.com/downloads/pers/Chillap_JR-9080_image.zip for atmospheric photos
www.jori.com/downloads/pers/Chillap_JR-9080_product.zip for product photos