IFDA Announces Raymond Waites Scholarship Competition

October 8, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2008 The International Furnishings and Design Association Educational Foundation announced Wednesday that plans are underway for a new nationwide Raymond Waites Design Competition Scholarship. The program will invite college and university students to design a living area based on modern interpretations of classic themes, in keeping with the noted designer’s ideas about blending time periods and cultural influences in today’s furnishings and environments. The intention is to continue with design competitions for dining room and bedroom in following years.

Raymond Waites is known as an industry entrepreneur, creating unique eclectic designs in licensed lines of furniture, lamps, area rugs, accessories and accent items that reflect his vision of the “Remix Revolution.” He is also an icon, style pioneer and artist.

To help build the fund, Raymond Waites is hosting a Wine Tasting and Silent Art Auction at his New Vintage Gallery, 1313 N. Main St., on Sunday, Oct. 19, 6-8:30 p.m. Several pieces of his original works of art will be offered at auction, all proceeds going into the design competition scholarship fund.

During the coming months, the IFDA Educational Foundation will work with Waites in developing detailed scholarship criteria and application requirements which will be distributed to colleges and universities across the country and also be available on the Educational Foudation Web site, www.ifdaef.org where interested parties also may make a donation to the fund.

The Raymond Waites Design Competition Scholarship will be launched in the fall of 2009. The winner will be announced during the April Market of 2010 and highlight the 40th anniversary of the IFDA Foundation which now offers more annual scholarships and grants than any other industry association.

“Our idea is to offer this design competition early in the school year so it can be used as a class project and become a valuable learning tool,” Waites said. “Most design schools concentrate on contemporary styling but the marketplace continues to dictate a blend of past and present in furniture, accessories and interiors.”

The criteria will include the requirement of illustrating in detail a feature item of the design so it is applicable to “real life” production processes and marketing programs. Raymond Waites intends to select an item from the winning room design to adapt for one of his collections, the royalties going into the scholarship fund.

Current plans are to award a $5,000 scholarship to the winning entry.

The student also will have an opportunity to gain hands-on experience working as an intern with Raymond Waites, helping set up High Point Market showrooms. Plans include the involvement of a leading shelter magazine in the project.