Tag: design competition

Queen Bee: Fort Kinnaird crowns winner of competition to design labels for homegrown honey

Nine-year-old Elodie from Niddrie Mill Primary School has been named the winner of a recent competition launched by Fort Kinnaird to design a label for the honey produced by its resident beehives.  

Elodie was one of 115 pupils from the local primary school to take part in the contest, with Fort Kinnaird choosing her hand-drawn design to be printed on the labels.

As part of Fort Kinnaird’s longstanding partnership with Scottish homelessness charity, Cyrenians, the jars of honey featuring Elodie’s design will be donated to food redistribution service, FareShare, helping to give back to the local community. FareShare aims to reduce food waste while also tackling food inequality across the country.     

Elodie and the five runners up, Elena, Kamsi, Layah, Lola, and Ella celebrated with a visit from the Cyrenians team and Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, who awarded them with vouchers to enjoy a well-deserved shopping spree at the centre in recognition of their winning designs.

Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, said: “It’s been great to see the children of Niddrie Mill Primary School get involved in our competition. We were really impressed by the creativity of all the designs, but Elodie’s really stood out to us.

“We’re proud that our beehives are having such a positive impact on our local community, not just in terms of sustainability by promoting biodiversity but also by providing an opportunity for us to support the vital work of Cyrenians through donating to their FareShare service and ensuring the honey is put to good use.” 

Judith Hughes, Director of Income Generation, Marketing and Communication at Cyrenians, said: “We’re really pleased to be part of this community initiative with Fort Kinnaird and Niddrie Mill Primary School.

“Our FareShare initiative provides vital support to people across Scotland, and we think that the honey complete with Elodie’s lovely design will bring a smile to those using our service.”    

Cheryl Miller, Sustainability Lead at Niddrie Mill Primary School, said: “Our students really enjoyed being involved in Fort Kinnaird’s competition and it’s great to know that their work will have a positive impact on our community, which is so important to us as a school.”

The competition follows pupils from Niddrie Mill visiting the beehives at Fort Kinnaird back in June, during which they learned all about the world of bees – including how they are essential to the local environment, how hives function, and what it takes to care for bees first-hand. 

Fort Kinnaird runs the beehives in partnership with Colin Mackie, a local beekeeper who has tended to the beehives since they were established in May 2024. 

For more details and to plan your day at Fort Kinnaird, please visit: 

https://www.fortkinnaird.com/

Granton GLOWs: Edinburgh College student wins local design competition

An Edinburgh College student has won a creative competition to design a number of posters showcasing projects taking place across Granton and will now have his work on display at the site of the iconic Granton gasometer.

Seventeen-year-old George Kershaw won the creative competition to have his designs displayed at the site of the Granton gas tower, which received significant investment last year to turn the structure into an illuminating landmark which lights up the skyline in the area.

The Foundation Apprenticeship (FA) Design student was named the winner of the competition, after the city council challenged his class to come up with a series of designs to help promote projects and events that have happened in the area, such as the Hidden Doors Festival, COP 26 Climate conference, Diwali celebrations and more.

The iconic gas tower located in the Granton Waterfront area is a beacon of light on the Edinburgh skyline thanks to the partnership project between the College, the City of Edinburgh Council, and 21CC.

George said: “Whilst I expected to do well in the competition, I knew there were several other talented designers also entering so I was very happy to find out that I had won and gained such a great opportunity. I wasn’t as happy to realise that I had also given myself a lot more work than I bargained for, as the process took several months to complete!

“Edinburgh Council set our class with the challenge of designing several promotional banners for the events centred around the Granton gas tower. My design was chosen and expanded on and finalised by me and my tutor Chris Hamilton until it was ready to be printed.

“This involved many conversations between me and the Council and was also my first experience with the many challenges involved in the design process.

“I hope that I can find more great opportunities like this one to challenge myself and so that I can also come out of university with a portfolio full of amazing work, which will help me gain employment at a top design agency once I’ve finished my studies.”

Edinburgh College Assistant Principal for Creative Industries Jakki Jeffery said: “This was an excellent opportunity for the FA Creative Digital Media (Graphics) students to work on a live industry brief from our partnership with Edinburgh Council and 21CC lighting up the iconic Granton Gas Tower.

“We were really impressed with the standard of work submitted by all the students, supported by their lecturer Chris. George is a worthy winner and we wish him all the best in his future career.”

City council leader Cammy Day said: “My warmest congratulations to George on his achievement and I’m sure this will be the first of many more to come in his design career.

“This poster campaign will provide a new and dynamic angle to an already iconic Edinburgh landmark. These posters showcase a wide array of local, national and cultural events. Projects like these in conjunction with Edinburgh College represent the Council’s wider commitment to Granton Waterfront and its long-term regeneration.

“This regeneration will spearhead the capital’s response to the climate emergency alongside providing sustainable economic growth and empowering local communities”.  

Pictures: Fabio Scalici

Cramond P7s to design dream bedroom for new showhome

CREATIVE pupils at Cramond Primary school are being given the opportunity to see their dream bedroom become a reality, thanks to a project with a major housebuilder.

Eileen Kesson, interior designer at Envision, is partnering with Cramond Primary for a design competition which will see children in P7 create their ultimate bedroom, complete with a budget, their choice of materials, and a floorplan.

Eileen, a renowned designer with more than 20 years’ experience, will give the children a full overview and brief today, with a moodboard to be created and presented later in the month.

Coordinated by CALA Homes, Eileen and Principal Teacher at Cramond Primary School, Yasmeen Naeem, the winning project will form the design for a bedroom at the new showhome at CALA’s Cammo Meadows.

Yasmeen Naeem said: “This is a fantastic experience for our pupils to enhance their design and artistic skills – the children are all already very excited for their presentation from Eileen and can’t wait to get started.

“Not only is it an excellent project for bringing out some creative ideas, having a proper project with a timescale and budget is hugely beneficial and gives pupils a flavour of real-life work.

“We’re sure this will be one of our most popular projects – it’s something different and engaging, making it ideal for remote learning.”

The lucky winner will get to visit their real-life dream bedroom at the showhome, located minutes from Cramond Primary, later this year when the showhome has been designed and furnished.

Eileen Kesson said: “I’ll be setting out a real-life scenario and portrait of a family for the pupils to use to create their ideal bedroom.

“With many children learning from home, it’s important that their bedrooms are their own, separate space with areas to play, learn and sleep so I’m looking forward to seeing what the pupils come up with.”

This is the second bedroom design competition of its kind that CALA has organised, the first being with West Barns Primary School in Dunbar in 2018, where P6 and P7 students designed a bedroom in a showhome at its nearby Castle Bay development.

Cammo Meadows is the housebuilder’s latest development of detached family homes in Edinburgh. The first phase of the development includes a collection of five-bedroom detached homes, with terraced homes and apartments to be built in later phases.

Neighbouring the Cammo Estate, the development is located minutes from Cramond Primary School and is surrounded by 23 acres of green outdoor space, a wildflower meadow, and new woodland to be created as part of the build.

Built in 1975, Cramond Primary School is a non-denominational school which serves Cramond and the surrounding areas of northwest Edinburgh. The school has more than 400 pupils, and is part of the Royal High School cluster.

For more information on Cammo Meadows, please visit: 

https://www.cala.co.uk/homes-for-sale/scotland/edinburgh/cammo-meadows/