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CAINZ, KOKUYO, and VUILD to Jointly Hold the Inaugural CDM Digi Fab COMPETITION 2026, a Furniture and Woodwork Design Competition

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Grand Prize and Excellence Award-Winning Entries to Be Commercialized Through CAINZ DIY MARKET

KOKUYO CO., LTD. (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President: Hidekuni Kuroda) announces that, together with CAINZ CORPORATION (Headquarters: Honjo, Saitama; Representative Director, President and CEO: Masayuki Takaya) and VUILD, inc. (Headquarters: Atsugi, Kanagawa; Representative Director and CEO: Koki Akiyoshi), it has jointly launched the inaugural CDM Digi Fab COMPETITION 2026, a furniture and woodwork design competition, and began accepting entries on July 10, 2026.

Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President: Hidekuni Kuroda

1. Background and Overview of the Initiative

In recent years, family lifestyles and the ways living spaces are used have become increasingly diverse. In households with children in particular, activities such as studying, playing, tidying up, and relaxing often overlap in the same space, and ready-made furniture alone may not fully meet each household's needs in terms of usability or size.

CAINZ offers CAINZ DIY MARKET, a custom-cut furniture platform where customers complete furniture themselves through DIY, as a new furniture option that addresses small inconveniences and wishes in everyday life. Furniture created by hand and gradually adapted to daily life through use is more than just a tool; it can also foster a deeper attachment to one's home and family.

For CDM Digi Fab COMPETITION 2026, CAINZ, with its expertise in consumer-focused product development and distribution; KOKUYO, with its expertise in furniture and spatial design; and VUILD, with its digital fabrication technology and implementation expertise, will collaborate to explore the potential for new value creation enabled by digital fabrication technology and connect creators' ideas to products that reach consumers and become part of their everyday lives.
The Grand Prize-winning and Excellence Award-winning entries are scheduled to be commercialized and sold through Creators Design, a system within CAINZ DIY MARKET that supports creators.
All entries that pass the first screening are also scheduled to be presented in a special exhibition at KOKUYO Tokyo Shinagawa Office “THE CAMPUS.”

2. Application Guidelines Overview

Application guidelines and terms and conditions for CDM Digi Fab COMPETITION 2026

Please see the special website below for details, including the schedule and application guidelines.
・CDM Digi Fab COMPETITION 2026 special website
URL: https://img.cainz.com/diy-market/events/digi_fab_competition_2026/index_en.html

(1) Theme

Living with Children

Homework spread out in the living room, and piles of toys.
A child's desire to "do it myself," and an adult's honest wish for them to " tidy up".

Ready-made furniture does not always bridge this subtle gap. This competition focuses on DIY furniture that people assemble and finish with their own hands and invites ideas for new furniture and woodwork that fit the needs of today's families.

(2) Eligible Entries

Furniture or woodwork designs aligned with the theme of Living with Children
We are seeking proposals for furniture and woodwork that put children at the center, such as designs that unleash children's creativity or give them an "I did it all by myself!" moment, as well as furniture that eases family stress by helping adults and children coexist comfortably.

*Please see the application form for details, including design requirements and required submissions.

(3) Awards

・Grand Prize (1 winner): 100,000 yen and commercialization through CDM Creators Design
・Excellence Award (2 winners): 50,000 yen and commercialization through CDM Creators Design
・Honorable Mention (up to 3 winners): 30,000 yen

(4) Judging Points

Relevance to the theme, aesthetics and design quality, originality, functionality, durability and safety, and feasibility

(5) Judges

CDM Digi Fab COMPETITION 2026 by CAINZ×KOKUYO×VUILD Office

(6) Eligibility

Open to individuals, groups, regardless of age, gender, occupation, or nationality. Entrants must agree to the competition's terms and conditions.
Entrants must be able to enter into an agreement with CAINZ in connection with commercialization.

*Submissions must be original and unpublished work both in Japan and abroad, and participants may submit an unlimited number of entries.

(7) Entry Fee

Free

(8) Schedule

・Entry Opens: 10th July 2026
・Submission Deadline: 27th September 2026 (23:59 JST)
・First Screening Results Announcement (Entrants Advancing to the Second Screening): Scheduled for early October 2026 (only advancing entrants will be notified by email)
・Second Screening Results Announcement (Announcement of Winners): Scheduled for early December 2026
・Special Exhibition: Scheduled for early December 2026 at KOKUYO Tokyo Shinagawa Office “THE CAMPUS.”

(9) Organizers

CAINZ CORPORATION / KOKUYO CO., LTD. / VUILD, inc.

(10) Enquiries

CDM DigiFab COMPETITION 2026 Secretariat
cdm.digifab.comp2026@cainz.co.jp

*Enquiries by telephone, fax, or through KOKUYO Customer Service will not be accepted.
*To ensure fairness, enquiries regarding the judging process or reasons for selection will not be accepted.
*Any information relating to the screening process or the selection results after submission will not be answered.

3. Comments from the Organizers

■CAINZ CORPORATION

Mitsuyoshi Tabako
General Manager, Community Platform Department, Omoshiro Business Division
This competition is an initiative designed to support the future development of Creators Design, a service offered through CAINZ DIY MARKET. CAINZ aims to expand the options available to customers for shaping their lifestyles and establish a new model of co-creation with creators by bringing diverse ideas to customers as products.

■KOKUYO CO., LTD.

Kazutaka Oki, Masayoshi Suzuki
Design Center, MONOZUKURI Division, Global Workplace Division
Takashi Ueda
Co-Creation Office Business Task Force
This initiative seeks to propose not only individual pieces of furniture, but also how they can be used in daily life. We look forward to seeing new possibilities for furniture emerge from the consumer's perspective.

■VUILD, inc.

Hayato Kurobe
Design Director/Photographer
Digital fabrication shortens the distance between design and production, opening the door to an era in which anyone can become a maker. We hope to expand the possibilities of creating furniture that truly fits each person's life through this first competition with CAINZ, which has a consumer-centered approach, and KOKUYO, which has expertise in spatial design.

4. Reference

＜About CAINZ CORPORATION＞

CAINZ CORPORATION is a home improvement chain with 276 stores across 29 prefectures.
Under its Kurashi DIY brand concept, CAINZ develops valuable products and services that enrich people's lives and offers them every day at attractive prices. By creating stores filled with Kindness and ingenuity, CAINZ works to make the everyday lives of individual customers, their families, and local communities more enjoyable, delivering on its promise to customers: Kurashi ni, la-la-la ("La-la-la for daily life.")
URL: https://www.cainz.co.jp/ (Japanese only)

＜About VUILD, inc.＞

VUILD is an architectural startup guided by the vision "Toward a society that revolves around 'living' and 'building'." VUILD provides integrated services spanning architectural design and the fabrication and installation of interiors and fixtures using AI, robotics, digital fabrication, and other digital technologies. Through its nationwide wood-processing network and proprietary digital production tools connecting that network, VUILD is putting systems in place that make creating accessible to everyone, not only professionals. Guided by its purpose, "Unleashing People's Creativity," VUILD is advancing the democratization of architecture and creation while proposing new possibilities for the future of the architectural industry.
URL: https://vuild.co.jp/en/



*The information in this release is current as of the date of the announcement. Please note that it is subject to change without prior notice.
*The company names, service names, and product names listed are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies.