With close to 2,000 online votes cast by consumers in the first round of voting, Project UDesign continues to captivate consumer and industry interest as the competition enters its final days.
Three chair designs have emerged as crowd favorites and three Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) students are now advancing to the last round of online voting for Project UDesign, through 11:59 p.m. EST, Oct.19. The finalists—Ryland Quillen, Emily Carpenter and Matt Gray—are a step closer to their goal of having their design become the next eco-friendly wing chair made with sustainable materials for its cushioning and other components.
The three designs and related video footage are displayed on Cargill’s Experience BiOH® blog and
You Tube channel.
The three finalists will showcase their original wing chair designs at North Carolina’s famous High
Point Market this month in Century Furniture’sHistoric Market Square showroom starting Saturday,
Oct. 16. There, Market attendees can vote online for their favorite at Century’s showroom. A special
Industry-wide ‘Tweetup’ will also take place on Monday, Oct. 18, 5-7 p.m., where the public and
event attendees can interact on Twitter with the finalists.
The winner of the competition will be announced in the Century Courtyard, during the WithIt Student
Mentoring Day Kickoff, 9 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 20.
The competition is the first in the furniture industry to “crowdsource” a design that consumers can
eventually buy. Additionally, for the winning SCAD furniture design student, Century Furniture has
pledged to put the winning design into production in early 2011. The company will pay the winner
a royalty for each unit of the winning chair design it sells, and the winner will receive a $1,000 award
from Cargill’s BiOH® polyols business.
“We are thrilled for the finalists, and we are particularly encouraged to see the great interest consumers have shown in the Project UDesign competition,” said Yusuf Wazirzada, Cargill’s BiOH® polyols business unit leader HYPERLINK “http://www.cargill.com/products/industrial/foam/index.jsp”. “It aligns with the overall consumer trend of wanting to see more sustainable products in the marketplace.”
Cargill BiOH® polyols business – makers of the soy-based ingredient which replaces a percentage of
petroleum in foam used for upholstered furniture cushioning – is the primary sponsor of Project UDesign. Co-sponsors include Toray International’s Ultrasuede® brand of upholstery covers made using the company’s EcoDesign™ manufacturing process and North Carolina-based Century Furniture, a 2009 AHFA SAGE award finalist and Sustainable Furnishings Council member.
About Cargill
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to sharing its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit www.cargill.com.
About Century Furniture
Century Furniture manufacturers fine furniture for bedroom, dining room furniture and living room. Since 1947, Century Furniture has strived to be the best furniture company in the world, providing finely crafted luxury furniture with impeccable design, highest quality and legendary service to its customers. Now a third generation, family owned company, Century is located in Hickory, North Carolina and employs more than 900 associates. Each employee is a company stakeholder and their commitment and dedication can be seen in every piece of furniture made. For more information, visit www.centuryfurniture.com.
About SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
The Savannah College of Art and Design is the most comprehensive art and design university in the world, offering more degree programs and specializations than any other art and design university. SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor’s and master’s degrees in distinctive locations and online to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers students a choice of degree programs in 46 majors and more than 50 minors at locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia; in Lacoste, France; online through SCAD eLearning; and in Hong Kong beginning this fall. For more information, visit www.scad.edu.
FOR INQUIRES ABOUT THIS PRESS RELEASE
Leslie Newby, Brand Communications, Inc. 336-370-4623
leslie@workthebrand.com
Tags: Furniture, Interiors, Project UDesign
