Over the weekend, nearly 100 participants across 18 teams worked on ideas ranging from cultural children’s toys, wooden training equipment and packaging made from wood waste to portable workspaces, modular wooden homes and digital tools for finding a new life for wood industry offcuts. Along the way, they also practised something less tangible: working with unfamiliar people, communicating across languages, and finding the confidence to present what they had built in just 48 hours.
By Sunday afternoon, ideas that had started as mere conversations on Friday, were tangible enough to be carried (or wheeled) on stage and presented to the world. Let’s have a closer look at them!
Shelter Design - Overall winner
Tickets to sTARTUp Day. Invited to join the follow-up program
Compact, modular furniture designed to make shelters more functional and comfortable. The furniture can be assembled without tools, making it practical for spaces where flexibility and quick setup matter.
Team members: Johanna Liisa Eichenbaum, Lill Kagadze, Maria Kängsep, Triinu Taimi Priinits, Raimo Pregel.
WOODA - Lumbester challenge winner, TOP 5
Invited to join the follow-up program
Packaging materials made from local wood waste, giving an underused resource a new purpose.
Team members: Emma Samuel, Anita Nõmmiste, Anastassija Nizenskaja, Anastasiia Drabovska, Olena Kaminska.
Stack a Station - PPA challenge winner
Team members: Karmen Muinasmaa, Anna Jõgi, Chris Meade, Gabriel Õun.
Foldable - PPA challenge honourable mention
A folding table that doubles as a wall-mounted art piece when not in use, combining practical furniture with an expressive approach to saving space.
Team members: Sass Kirs, Rasmus Lumi, Kristofer Kroon, Andri Linder, Carlis Jahu, Devon Tooding and Richard Lang.
Tree Shield - Audience favourite, TOP 5
Invited to join the follow-up program
A protective shield designed to keep young trees and bushes safe from animals.
Team members: Elisabeth Jürisson, Kertu Lõhmus, Kelli Teppo and Hans Jalajas.
Sawdust Toys - TOP 5
Invited to join the follow-up program
Children’s toys made from sawdust and non-toxic adhesive, turning wood waste into something playful and useful.
Team members: Anna Demetšenko, Evelina Dmitrijeva, Polina Kabina, Matvei Filin, Veronika Zaiceva, Vadim Vassiljev and Darja Golovkina.
Pop-Up Workspace - TOP 5
Invited to join the follow-up program
A compact workspace for office workers, designed to bring everyday working essentials into a space-saving solution.
Team members: Sven Tiirusson, Silvee Säga, German Petrovski, Artem Vasyliev and Sander Silla.
Streetree - Invited to join the follow-up program
Street furniture made from production waste, combining creative design with a practical use for leftover materials.
Team members: Kärt Kängsepp, Taavi Mölder, Kadri Kristjuhan-Ling, Rauno Kutsar, Aleksander Yuzbashev, Alina Hadijeva and Katarina Vahtra.
Hackathons aren’t just for programmers, and Future of Wood isn’t just for woodworkers. What makes it work is bringing different skills together to build something real. With experienced mentors and machine operators on hand, participants could contribute what they knew while trying something new.
A wide range of skills was also present in our team of 14 mentors. Wood know-how met design, engineering, AI and business. Returning with the enthusiasm and experience of earlier Future of Wood editions or other Garage48 hackathons, Jörgen Dobris, Martin Verrev, Orm-Gregori Joost, Calum Cameron, Triin Preem, Jaanus Sakkis, Henrik Rank and Erkki Naaris helped those mentoring for the first time settle into the rhythm. Henri Rosumets and Ants Tiido brought practical knowledge of the wood industry, while Sergei Jegorovtsev, Tarmo Kärdi, Silja Šuman and Denis Volkov added experience in technology, business, and creative thinking. As a team, they brought different perspectives to the same challenges and allowed participants to see the bigger picture. It’s never about just building a product, but also making sure it has a place in people’s lives.
This event would not have been possible without our amazing co-organisers. They did much more than help with preparations - they were hands-on throughout the weekend. Jörgen Dobris and the team at Puidu Kompetentsikeskus TSENTER welcomed us into their space for three full days, giving teams access to woodworking tools and finding quick solutions whenever something was needed. Their support will continue beyond the makeathon through the follow-up programme for winning teams. Sergei Jegorovtsev and the team from Ida-Virumaa Vocational Education Centre COSMOS helped spread the word across the Ida-Virumaa community, brought students and experts to the event, and stayed involved from start to finish. Vidrik Ugur from Valga Vocational Training Centre also helped bring students to the makeathon, giving them the chance to put their skills to work alongside people from different fields.
Collaboration with partners brought real-world challenges to the makeathon, connecting teams with problems in need of fresh thinking. The partners didn’t just present the challenges - they rolled up their sleeves and got involved in finding solutions. Lumbester OÜ encouraged participants to find sustainable uses for wood industry waste. Henri Rosumets worked with the teams as a mentor, sharing what everyday work in the wood industry looks like and where their ideas could make a difference. He is also willing to continue supporting the ideas after the hackathon. The Estonian Police and Border Guard Board brought a different question: could temporary, collapsible workspaces also be comfortable, ergonomic, functional and good-looking? Karmen Muinasmaa joined a team herself, helping design and build a solution for the needs of public sector offices. Our friends at sTARTUp Day decided to support winners of the hackathon take the next step in their founder journey by offering them free tickets to the sTARTUp Day 2027 conference, taking place on 17-19 August 2027 in Tartu.
Not every question could be answered in one weekend, but the teams left with something they could build upon: a prototype, a new perspective and people to take the next steps with. That’s a good result for 48 hours, and we can’t wait to see what’s next! Stay tuned for updates on the teams that will continue their journey in the follow-up program.
Check out the photos of the event.
Learn more about the teams from the Audience Favorite album.
Watch the finals and award ceremony.
#g48futureofwood #G48WOOD
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