3 Finalists for Project UDesign

October 4, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Green on October 5, 2010

Three chair designs have emerged as finalists in Cargill's BiOH Polyols' Project UDesign chair design competition.

The first round of voting drew almost 2,000 online votes from consumers. Three Savannah College of Art and Design students are 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 YouTube channel.
 
The three finalists will showcase their original wing chair designs at the Oct. 16-21 High Point Furniture Market this month in Century Furniture's showroom, Market Square 500, where Marketgoers can vote online for their favorite design. A special Industry-wide 'Tweetup' is set for 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. 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. "It aligns with the overall consumer trend of wanting to see more sustainable products in the marketplace."