Groovystuff Teams with Purdue U. for Design Challenge

April 1, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Green on April 2, 2012

Reclaimed teak furniture vendor Groovystuff has teamed with Purdue University for the latest Groovystuff Design Challenge.

Students from Purdue's Industrial Design Department will participate in the program at the April 21-26 High Point Furniture Market in the Suites at Market Square. The challenge, part of Groovystuff's efforts to build links between higher education and the furniture industry, is for students to design marketable home furnishings from sustainable materials.

Under the leadership of professor and design professional Laura Drake, 18 students from the Industrial Design department received a pallet of reclaimed material and started the Groovystuff Design Challenge right after spring break. As a class decision, the students chose "Lighting" as their category of contribution and will be charged with designing a modern and elegantly rustic lighting design for inclusion in the celebrity Dick Idol Brand.
 
Since joining the faculty in 1990, Professor Laura Drake has been actively involved in design initiatives and cross promotional opportunities for graduates. As a design professional, Laura has been featured in publications both domestically and internationally to include, Metropolitan Home, HG, Craft International, Casa Vogue, Japan High Fashion, Japan Interior Design as well as a number of other leading publications.  She currently holds memberships in The American Furniture Society, The Industrial Design Society of America, and The Chicago Furniture Designers Association, and has spearheaded the involvement of Purdue€šs outreach into the residential home furnishing market by bringing her program to the High Point Market for the first time.
 
Groovystuff, along with co-sponsor International Market Centers, help to broaden the educational outreach of university programs across the country by giving them real world market experience, and a platform to build on their association with the industry prior to graduation. Purdue also is the latest to join in "The Groovystuff University Hall of Innovation and Job Creation," a sponsored space at market providing students and faculty with an invaluable opportunity to network with retailers, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, journalists, and industry professionals.

The Industrial Design Department from Purdue will display outs contributions to the residential home furnishings market at The Suites at Market Square, Showroom Number 1-836, along with faculty and students from The Industrial Design Department at Appalachian State University, The Interior Architecture & Design Department at The University of North Carolina Greensboro, and the Interior Design Department at High Point University.
 
"Our goal with the University Hall is to provide students with a platform for creativity and encourage them to embrace the home furnishings industry," said Groovystuff President Chris Bruning, the visionary behind the Groovystuff Hall of Innovation and Job Creation. "We will display the original drawings along with the finished product so buyers can see the transformation of the concept into a fully executed consumer product. We'll ask them again for their comments and votes--but also for their order. The final winning design will be the one with the top sales. That student designer will not only win a $500 cash prize, and inclusion in the celebrity endorsed Dick Idol Brand, but also a permanent 1 percent royalty on all future sales of the product."