Brown Jordan Mentors SCAD Students for Outdoor Collection

May 29, 2019  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

Within a 10-week quarter in collaboration with Brown Jordan, the students were tasked with researching, designing and building a collection of outdoor furniture.

SCAD sought expertise from the top professionals in the field so that the students could be given proper guidance, including Brown Jordan’s Chief Brand Curator, Stephen F. Elton. 

“It’s such an honor to help guide these extremely talented and innovative young minds. The pieces they created are both masterfully crafted and conceptually original,” said Elton. 

In addition to supporting the students during each phase of construction, Elton also served as a judge at the end of the semester and critiqued the final products. Guest judges included internationally acclaimed designer, Richard Frinier, as well as design journalist and Honorary Dean of the SCAD School of Building Arts, Margaret Russell. 

SCAD and Brown Jordan teamed up with Arbor Wood Co., which generously donated the materials used to produce the furniture. The company is unique because it organically extends the life of its wood products by using only heat and water to withstand outside elements.

“We are thrilled to have had Brown Jordan so intimately involved in every step of the design process,” said Frederic Spector, associate chair of furniture design at SCAD. “The students benefitted greatly from Stephen’s advice and expertise.” 

A select few pieces were given awards for a number of categories. The winners were Tahani Ahmed Aldeini for the Design Award, Aaron Tyler Atwood for the Innovation Award, and Quinten Juan Sanchez for the Materials Award. The award-winning works as well as some of the other top pieces debuted as part of SCAD’s booth at ICFF.