ADA Award of Merit: Jacqueline Kaytar
Jacqueline Kaytar, aka @studiokaytar, has won the Authentic Design Alliance (ADA) Award of Merit for Bark, a hand-sand-cast aluminium stool inspired by the furrowed surface of ironbark, at the 2026 vivid Emerging Designer Awards.
vivid is Australia’s longest-running competition for emerging furniture, lighting and object designers. The ADA has partnered with the awards since 2016 to support innovative, original, well-made objects created during the early-career phase.
Winners were announced at Decor + Design in Melbourne, held 15 to 17 July 2026.
The Authentic Design Alliance Award of Merit
The ADA sponsors the Award of Merit category at vivid to recognise the entrant whose work best reflects originality, craftsmanship and market readiness. These are the standards the ADA advocates for across the wider design industry, and the reason it has stayed a vivid award partner since 2016.
This year, Jacqueline Kaytar Bark won the ADA Award of Merit, with a commendation to @ninafrances_ for Recession Coffee Table.
Read more about the ADA at vivid: meet the 2026 finalists and see this year’s full finalists list.
Category winners
Furniture Award
Winner: Jacqueline Kaytar, Bark – mirror-polished sand-cast aluminium that contrasts with a raw, textured exterior cast from bark, with the highly polished interior and top surface. @studiokaytar
Commendation: Veronica Paiva and Lachlan Mackay, Second Subject – combining varied hardwoods and steel, the object is an exploration of materials and making rather than a fixed outcome. @subjectmatters__
Commendation: Reece Patterson, Whistle Cabinet – crafted from American Walnut, this wall-mounted wing-like shelf features a central push-to-open drawer. @rhodrifurniture
Lighting Design Award
Winner: James Morando, Linea, a market-ready minimal, acid-etched aluminium extrusion wall sconce @jamesmorando
Commendation: Rosie Licence, Sap Floor Lamp, made from salvaged oak boards with cast resin components @rosielicence
Object Design Award
Winner: Noah Corban, Three Flow, a beautifully resolved three-vessel set with containers and lids attached by recessed magnets. @Noahcorban
Commendation: Tom Summers, Soft Plane Wall Hook Series – ceramic wall hooks informed by Brutalism that are textured, architectural objects that are decorative as well as functional. @__tomsummers
Concept Design Award
Winner: Alex Berecz, HAL, inspired by the AI entity in 2001: A Space Odyssey, designed as a conceptual shield to ward off present-day artificial intelligence. @a_b_create_
Commendation: Steel Issoufson, Second Skin – conceptual footwear that challenges standardised sizing as a modular wearable object that adapts to the individual @dot___lab
Colour Award
Winner: Carl Broesen, Loom Armchair, hand-tufted textile off-cuts applied to an electropolished stainless steel frame act as a soft cushioning upholstery surface. @carlbroesenstudio
Commendation: Tara Burgess, Imprint on Me – a sculptural outdoor side table cast in a hybrid sand-formwork mould using custom limecrete. @_tara.jayne,
Student Award
Winner: Noah Corban, Three Flow @Noahcorban
Commendation: Nina Lewis, Recession Coffee Table@ninafrances_
Commendation: Sam Short, Corded Bench @_studioshort
Judges’ Choice: Jacqueline Kaytar’s Bark
Bark, the cast aluminium stool by @studiokaytar, also won the Judges’ Choice Award, the event’s top honour. The piece translates the deeply furrowed texture of ironbark into metal through hand sand-casting.
Judge Cassie Hansen, editor of InteriorsAu, said Jacqueline’s work is exquisite and reflects everything the judges look for: beautifully crafted, memorable and market ready.
This year’s jury
The 2026 vivid jury was curated by Daniel Dalla Riva of @studio___latitude (Latitude Group), and included Dan Barker (Bricolage), Mark Bailey (Thirteen Architectural Timber), John Bastiras (In Good Company), Bree Banfield, Cassie Hansen (InteriorsAu), Georgina Greenland (Design Institute of Australia), Suzanne McNeice (Circa), Simone Pittella (Pittella), Anne-Maree Sargeant (Authentic Design Alliance), Ruby Shields (Studio Shields) and Lauren Treloar (Dulux).
[IMAGE: group photo, about 13 people. Credit: Peter Clarke. File: ADA-featured-VividJury2026-WEB-230726-v1.jpg]
Follow @vividdesigncomp, @decordesignshow and @greendesignshow for more from this year’s show.
Foundation ADA Membership is open
Foundation Membership is the ADA’s first new membership tier in a decade, built for sole practitioners, emerging studios and small practices of up to three people. Join before Friday, 31 July 2026 to claim a three- to six-month membership extension at no extra cost.
