ISFD INNOVATION + DESIGN Names 49 Finalists

August 17, 2022  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

The annual furniture industry sponsored juried competition was open to professional designers who make their own products and the next generation of serious woodworking students who are anticipating a career in the custom wood and related home furnishings industries.

The INNOVATION + DESIGN competition will culminate with the announcement of the winners at the “Meet the Designers” awards celebration held at 401 W. English on the Campus of Congdon Yards in High Point, on Thursday, September 22 at 7 p.m. 

“We were pleased to see that once again the number of creative entries this year increased over last year’s making this award even more prestigious,” commented John Conrad, executive director of ISFD. “In the next and final round the judges will be able to experience the entries in person to select winners in each category.  Also, the finalists’ projects will be uniquely photographed by more than 25 area photographers participating in the INNOVATION + DESIGN’s photographic competition and voted on by the exhibition visitors. These People’s Choice photography winners will be announced at a live celebration co-hosted with Theater Art Galleries (TAG) on October 13^th from 5-7 p.m. also at 401 W. English.”

Following the awards celebration, the INNOVATION + DESIGN winners’ and finalists’ projects will be on display Thursdays and Fridays from 3-7 p.m. and Saturdays noon-7 p.m. at 401 W. English until October 26.  Here, the designs will be viewed by thousands of citizens living in the Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, North Carolina area as well as industry veterans and High Point Market attendees. As a bonus, on October 22 from 3-6 p.m., ISFD will host a reception where industry executives, designers and merchants will be on hand to review the finalists’ projects for potential production opportunities. All are welcome to attend.

The professional finalists are:

• Justin Bailey, Lighting, Polyp Lighting
• Brian Boggs, Dining Room Furniture, Crescent Table
• Brian Boggs, Seating, Cio Armchair
• Ashoke Chhabra, Lighting, Hourglass Chaos Floor Lamp
• Erika Cross, Occasional Tables, Anvil
• Joseph Holmes, Occasional Tables, Walnut Offcut Table
• Stewart Junge, Dining Room Furniture, fiVO Design Bart Cart
• Stewart Junge, Occasional Tables, fiVO Design MOD 5 with Accessories
• Grant Kaihoi, Seating, Scaffold Bench- White Oak
• Jeremy Kamiya, Occasional Tables, Desk
• Cory Martin, Occasional Storage, Larder Pantry
• Christopher Martin, Occasional Tables, End Cut Coffee Table
• Christopher Martin, Seating, Makowa Chair
• Wells Mason, Seating, Umasi Bench
• Scott McGlason, Seating, RB Rocking Chair
• Mark Moore, Occasional Tables, Tension Console Table
• Ryan Nicholson, Lighting, Yamadera (Mountain Shrine)
• Kelly Parker, Dining Room Furniture, Dreamliner Barstool
• Mark Plakotoris, Lighting, Walnut Tension Floor Lamp
• Adrienne Romine, Lighting, Saturn Lamp
• Adrienne Romine, Seating, Arches Bench
• Joshua Saltman, Seating, Occasional Chair
• Bruce Schuettinger, Occasional Tables, Porta De Soul
• Joel Scilley, Accessories, Black Barky Turntable
• Douglas Soffe, Accessories, Venom
• Douglas Soffe, Occasional Tables, Form in Motion
• Justin Stabb, Accessories, Tetra Illuminated Wall System
• Dean Verhoeven, Seating, Auto-Adaptive Festival Chair
• Hasan Zaidi, Seating, Note Lounge

The student finalists are:

• Milan Bhullar, Accessories, Multi-faceted Mirror
• Milan Bhullar, Occasional Tables, Hooked On! Table
• Milan Bhullar, Seating, Horizon Chair
• Brooke Brady, Occasional Storage, Chess Set Curio Cabinet
• Brianna Cappelli, Lighting, Solace: Chandeliers
• Matthew Carr, Lighting, Push
• Matthew Carr, Occasional Storage, Vice Box
• Miriam Gibson, Seating, Patchwork Seating Set
• Yingxin Gong, Accessories, 3L Side Table
• Seth Hodges, Occasional Storage, Taian Cabinet
• Anthony Isaac, Occasional Tables, Webfoot
• Anthony Isaac, Seating, Indoor Chair
• Jiayan Li, Seating, “Cove” (from Anicca Collection)
• Elaine Mansure, Lighting, Floret
• Elaine Mansure, Occasional Storage, Georgie
• Gabriela Saadia Jinich, Accessories, STAV
• Gabriela Saadia Jinich, Seating, Cecillia
• Connor Schulz, Seating, Better Habits Chair
• Stephen Thrasher, Occasional Tables, Kagome Woven Wood Table
• Lecheng Wei, Seating, Hid and Seek Chair

The winners of the INNOVATION + DESIGN competition will receive cash prizes of $250-$1000 for professional and student levels in seating, occasional tables, occasional storage, lighting, accessories, and dining room furniture categories. Best of show winners will receive Congdon Yards Generator gift cards to work on any project of their choice. Plus, as an added bonus, this year’s finalists will be interviewed for the international podcast, Design Between the Lines, and the winners will be featured in industry publications.