Timbor Home, leading Indian modular kitchen and furniture manufacturer-retailer, organized a free seminar through its institute, Timbor Skillvarsity, on “Introduction to Design – Opportunities on the Home Front” at Ahmedabad on the 11th of May. Niraj Shah, Partner & Design consultant from Ido Design, Ranna Parikh, Architect and member of the Ahmedabad Chapter of the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID), Dexter Pereira, Architect & Interior Designer and Moksh Thapar, Industrial Designer were the speakers at the seminar.

The seminar was aimed at giving information about the fundamental principles of design, creating awareness regarding the opportunities in the furniture industry and the need for Kitchen Designers, the skills required to be a designer, current trends in interiors, furniture and modular kitchens while also emphasizing the importance of having one’s own personal style and how to incorporate it while decorating one’s house.

The seminar was attended by people from diverse backgrounds, ranging from 10th and 12th students, graduates to housewives to people from the plywood industry and the like. This was an interesting mix as there were people with a design background as well as people with no idea on design either. The youngest participant, Kamya, aged 14 while the oldest was an over 60 year old gentleman who came with his two undergraduate granddaughters. The 40 participants, albeit from different stages and places in life, enjoyed the seminar immensely and took away a lot from it.

The seminar started off with Niraj Shah, who explained the various principles of design – this session kept the participants rooted to their seats as many different perspectives were highlighted and came out through this. Dexter Pereira took a lecture of space planning, after which the participants were given a design problem wherein they designed their own kitchen. Ranna Parikh took a lovely and interactive session on the trends in furniture, themed rooms, etc. The jury of the four speakers chose five of the most interesting designs which were then discussed – it was amazing to see so much creativity abound! The seminar ended off with Moksh Thapar answering queries and dispelling myths, such as the benefits of granite as a kitchen counter as opposed to marble. The reason why granite is preferred (since it is less porous and a harder material) and much more. Certificates of participation were given and each the seminar ended on a very positive note.

There is a huge skill gap in the furniture and modular kitchen industry. Timbor Skillvarsity, with its vision, ‘Be Skilled. Be Employed.’ is a skill development initiative aimed at reducing this very gap and creating a skilled employable workforce. The initiative has been appreciated and funded by the Gujarat Government Industries Commissionerate through the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED).

The flagship course, ‘Kitchengineer’ is a 3 month certified full-time kitchen design course with guaranteed placement after completion. Other courses offered are Basic English, Woodwork & Carpentry and ProFit. The institute has been rated first for employability by the Gujarat Skill Development Mission (GSDM).

With this encouragement from the design fraternity and the support from the entire industry, Timbor has plans to hold regular workshops and seminars related to Beautifying one’s home, Public Speaking, Personality Development, Healthy Cooking, and much much more over the next few months.