This July, we’re launching the Think Good Micro-Grant: an annual $5,000 fund created to support architects, interior designers, furniture designers, makers, fabricators, joiners and students pursuing a more sustainable approach to the built environment.
So much of design is celebrated only at the moment it is finished and published. The Think Good Micro-Grant exists to support everything that comes before – the material research, the prototyping and testing, the rigorous thinking on which real innovation depends. We believe in the value of investing directly in the creative process, and in the people willing to do the work that moves our industry forward.
While focused on sustainability, the interpretation is generous. A proposal might consider environmental responsibility, material longevity, circularity, waste reduction, social sustainability, ethical production or the advancement of industry practice. What matters to us is the ambition to try something new, beyond the constraints of commercial work.
The grant reflects values that have long defined us as the exclusive Australian distributor of ALPI's recut timber veneers: a commitment to longevity, craft and responsible material production. This commitment is also why the grant carries no obligation to work with timber – we’re interested in supporting ideas. The work, and all the intellectual property within it, belongs entirely to the recipient.
The Think Good Micro-Grant is an extension of our seven-year sponsorship of the AIDA Sustainability Advancement Award, broadening a single night of recognition into a year-round contribution to the design community.
Applications are now open. Full details, eligibility and the application form are available at eltongroup.com/think-good-micro-grant.