‘Tis the season, it seems, for Rock-born artists to be lauded for their talents on the world stage. SO is thrilled to share the news that celebrated Jamaican furniture and jewellery designer, Claire Requa, has added yet another prestigious A’ Design award to her repertoire — emerging as prize winner of the Furniture, Decorative Items and Homeware Design Competition, for her Chandelier Table invention.

The decorative side table was created by Requa for her design firm Accent Aps as the perfect companion to her previous A’ award-winning Claire de Lune Chandelier, which won the bronze award — her first from A’ Design — in the Lighting Products and Lighting Projects Design Category in 2011, and features similar graphic lines as that product. Requa again swam to the top of the design pool last year, climbing the rung to receive the silver award for her Claire Upcycled Jewellery collection in the Jewellery, Eyewear and Watch Design Category.

A’ Design explains that the entries were voted for on aspects such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, fun details, technology — a perfect description for Requa’s latest furniture presentation. The designer describes the “almost-there quality” of the Chandelier Table as “emphasised by the delicate engraving, resembling lace”, and is proud of the fact that its packaging allows for the reduction of carbon footprints.

“As with most of the products I design, it is delivered flat-pack, so some assembly is required by the end consumer, a reminder of the reduction of the CO2 as an integral design consideration. A beautiful and useful addition to any bedroom or living room,” she explains. The Chandelier Table’s design and production process was executed in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a completion time of six months. Like most of her products, it is composed of laser-cut acrylic. Measuring 20 x 20 x 40 cm, it is flat-packed and packaged in a reusable bag made of recyclable polypropelene.

Requa, who resides in Denmark, was first trained at the Edna Manley College of the Visual & Performing Arts, and prides herself on creating ‘funktional’ — an amalgam of the words fun, funky and functional — items. Her pieces have been exhibited in numerous museums across the world, featured in many notable publications, and awarded prizes several times over.