Bienenstock Furniture Library adds scholarship honoring John Black

February 22, 2022  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry   

Established by Black’s wife and business partner, Joyce Black, the $5,000 student scholarship is funded by the family and contributions from friends and colleagues. The scholarship will be awarded during the second annual Bienenstock Future Designers Summit for students, Sept. 21-23.

John Black began his journey as a furniture designer while attending Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Mich., in the early 70s. Together with his wife, John founded J Black Design in 2000. Black designed iconic furniture collections for leading luxury brands, including Baker, Century, Councill, Ethan Allen, Hancock & Moore, Hickory Chair, Kravet and Vanguard.

Black was a regular visitor to the Bienenstock Furniture Library throughout his career. According to Joyce Black, he was a lifelong student of design, as well as someone eager to open the world of design to more diverse audiences.

The next Bienenstock Future Designers Summit will help to prepare up to 40 students — who will represent a variety of academic design disciplines from colleges and universities located throughout the U.S. — for future careers in the furnishings sector. 

The John Black Scholarship will be awarded to one student at the close of the event, along with The Broyhill Family Foundation Scholarship, established in 2021, to one other student. Each scholarship is worth $5,000.

Earlier this month, the library kicked off a fundraising campaign to support its growing student learning initiative. The invitation to contribute industry sponsorships and donations is open through March.

Outside of future scholarship funding, contributors making donations for the 2022 summit event will help to offset the costs of travel, accommodations and meals for each student attendee, as well as to cover expenses for program development and marketing.

To learn more, and to make online payments for company sponsorships or individual donations using the library’s PayPal account, visit the Future Designers Summit page located on the library’s website. 

Contributors for the 2022 summit to date include The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Foundation, International Market Centers, High Point Market Authority, Universal Furniture, Savour Partnership, Otto & Moore, Inc, Davis Furniture, Crypton LLC, 220 Elm, Catherine and Richard Frinier, Century Furniture/Rock House Farm Family of Brands, Gwen Emery, and Nancy Fire Designs.