Innovative Pottery Uses

Farstak Village along with many other areas in Egypt depending on pottery and ceramics craft as an economical source are looking for new designs which will allow the use of pottery in non-decorative uses thus open a wide area of applications and designing and encourage many pottery makers to return practicing the craft.

An invitation to product designers and artisans to create new and innovative pottery designs that blend the authenticity of the Egyptian heritage with a contemporary application that suits daily use, increasing opportunities for local marketing and exportation.

A 10,000 EGP reward will be presented by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology for providing creative feasible pottery designs. Please read on for more details!

The Problem:

Farastak is considered one of the largest producers of pottery in Egypt for more than 30 years and depend on such industry economically. Despite the large pottery production, Farastak experiences difficulties when it comes to the repetition of local pottery designs which led to a decrease in the demand for these products, thus decreasing in the economic return. Consequently, many pottery makers stopped practicing the craft as they encounter problems in marketing and selling these products due to the obvious lack of new designs that will open a wide area for the introduction of pottery in many non-decorative applications such as:

• Heat insulators
• Sanitary ware
• Artificial bones and teeth
• Catalytic converters
• Electric ceramic insulators used in computers and televisions.

Despite its popularity in Egypt, it's facing a fierce struggle to survive due to the great technological development witnessed by the world, the lack of interest of the state in such antiquated industries, and the decreased economical return.

New designs will have a great impact on the buying behavior of the user and increases the attentiveness towards a certain product, and stimulates the perceptions about product itself. There are essential factors that can affect the success of marketing the pottery and ceramics such as the designs and the introduction of new uses for pottery. The more innovative these factors are, the more they influence on the consumer’s purchase decision.

The Challenge:

To find attractive designs to open new areas to introduce pottery and ceramics in new areas thus create new applications and uses thus stimulate, influence and increase the impulse of buying. Your solution can open new markets for these distinctive Egyptian products and increase their competitive advantage. The proposed design solution should fulfill the following requirements:

·         Interpret customer requirements

·         design items using materials including clay, hard porcelain, earthenware and stoneware

·         Manage the production process and check quality

·         Design and produce one-off designs

·         Create items by hand using a mold or a potter's wheel

·         Use hand tools to prepare the clay

·         Apply chemical glazes and clay 'slips' to pots to add color and texture

·         Ability for mass production

·        Blend the authenticity of the Egyptian heritage with a contemporary application that suits daily use.

Reward and Conditions:

The winner will receive a reward of 10,000 EGP provided by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, to implement the solution in cooperation with Association of industrial and handicraft owners of Tanta, according to the following conditions:

1.        The solution shall be in the form of a design that describes the characteristics of the product, the materials used in its manufacture, the cost of the various manufacturing stages, etc.

2.        The reward will be used in the implementation of a prototypes that proves the quality and originality of the design .

3.        The solution should include a clear plan of action including implementation stages, timeline, required tools/materials, estimated budget, and technical support required (if applicable).

4.        The reward will be given in installments, in accordance to milestones set by the innovator(s) according to their plan of action.

5.        As per our platform Terms and Conditions, in case the intellectual property rights are not registered, the innovator should include the minimum details required to judge the technical validity and feasibility of the solution without full technical specifications.

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