Behind the scenes of 'Ideators' - episode 4:

Carving out a niche

Ruwini Jayawardana

About 17 kilometres from Colombo is a town in which 'one tree meets another.' This destination is widely known among Sri Lankans as Moratuwa. The nickname derives from the fact that most of the timber felled in various parts of the island finds its way to Moratuwa where it is turned into exquisite furniture.

Woodcraft designers and carpenters work painstakingly from dawn to daybreak, combining simplicity with creativity resulting in the most beautiful forms of furniture items that are both functional and artistic.

The products call to mind the archetypal nudes who stand before artist and audience, proudly showing each curve and crest of their composites. This set up, buzzing with activity and life, was where last week's 'Ideators', British Council's popular reality television programme, unfurled.

The scope of carving depends on the nature of the wood. Hardwoods have a longer life and lust. Softer wood is easier to carve. These are some of the basics that teams Lion Heart and Reflex got to know as they were handed the task of designing a wooden product best suited for the existing market by Woodman Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

A design which is innovative, takes minimal space, is cost effective and could be catered to today's market was what the group looked at when they graded the designs. Reflex opted for a product which is child oriented.

"I think we had a good advantage with my previous experience as a furniture designer. This allowed us to develop an idea wich could be manufactured using the skills of Woodman Lanka to the best of their ability. We also learnt a lot about each other from the previous two tasks which allowed us to come to terms with each other's strengths.

Adam's marketing skills came into practice and Daniel was free to provide idea developments so that Upi's and Dre's creative energy and skills could be put to use," Reflex's team leader, Alex explained.

The Northumbria University student further added that she was confident about their product and marketing skills, even after seeing Lion Heart's design.

"I felt we had worked really well as a team and was very happy with the end result. It felt really bad to lose twice in a row. We put 110 percent effort into the work," she added.

Meanwhile those in the Lion Heart camp discovered that putting their plan into motion was no child's play.

Lion Heart's leader Nimanthie explains that their idea was to make a piece of furniture that is modern, compact, multiple purpose and could be accommodated in a small apartment.

"We designed a table and four chairs that could be used for any purpose, that when kept together, makes a prism. You have a little storage area in the table where you can quickly put your laptop or whatever is on top and close it up in case you are preoccupied elsewhere. Also the caster wheels made it more convenient to move the furniture around," the student of Fashion Design and Product Development stream at the University of Moratuwa said.

Lion Heart had to overcome several hurdles before the final product was ready. The first among the few was the product's shape.

"What we designed was an irregular prism to give the table and chairs a better edgy and modern look but when we were trying to manufacture it, we had issues in achieving the exact shape out of plywood. Woodman Lanka experts gave us their maximum support trying their best to achieve the irregular prism that we designed but by around 10.30 pm we realized that we could not spend any more time trying to achieve our target. Instead, we decided to go ahead with the shape that we had at the initial stage of designing the product - a regular prism," Nimanthie noted.

For Bradford College's Natalie, designing woodcrafts was a complete new experience.

This is probably why she shied away from the limelight in the episode, an action which cost Natalie her position in 'Ideators'.

She says, "The most difficult part of the task for me was thinking up a type of furniture which would fit in with the brand. I found it hard to think of a concept straight away. I normally like to go away and research over a few days to work on my idea.

Obviously that was not possible due to time restrictions. Also it was a strange task because we had to design the product but we did not make anything so I felt it was harder to allocate a role for myself."

Luke notes that their first stumbling block seemed to be the name of Lion Heart's product, Compart.

The name was Suraaj's brainchild and is known as an architectural term to describe the subdivision of a space or object into separate parts.

"We felt this really suited the product. I think maybe we over-thought the naming process and it kind of went over the judges' heads, confusing the message about what the product actually did! However, I know all us Lion Hearts still love the name and probably would not change it given the chance!" the student from the University of Glamorgan added with determination.

Despite their best efforts, Lion Heart's Compart failed to win the judges' approval.

"Compart's immediate commercial viability in the Sri Lankan market was a problem. I think they were looking for a beautiful piece of furniture that could potentially sit alongside the existing furniture ranges and could easily be sold to their existing client base. We may have tried too hard to design something co pletely different, that had not been seen before, and had the potential to become a globally recognized stand-alone product," Luke explained. He adds that all credit should go to team Reflex for interpreting the client brief perfectly and bringing forth a great output.

Queried if she felt that her elimination is fair Natalie said that she agrees with the judges' decision because she did not give much feedback for the task.

"I was disappointed in myself for coming out so soon hence why I got upset but it is all a learning curve and it has taught me a lot about myself," she said.

Luke notes, "It was a shame to see Natalie eliminated, as she did not do anything 'wrong' as such during the challenge. I guess Natalie was the unlucky one as she was one of the quieter and less outspoken members of the group.

She might have been still finding her feet in the process. Whilst Natalie was with Lion Heart, she was an awesome team member and I have no doubt she will be very successful in the future."

Nimanthie adds, "At one stage when we felt we were running out of time Udana and Suraaj actually started working with the staff to complete the painting. Despite the exhaustion we really enjoyed the task. Lion Heart is a wonderful team to work with. Be it victory or defeat, I loved every minute of being their leader!"

You win some, you lose some. That is the spirit of the game. Watch Independence Television Network (ITN) next Saturday at 9 pm as the 'Ideators' find themselves 'on the road' for yet another challenging adventure.