ISFD Announces Judges for 2023 Pinnacle Awards

June 20, 2023  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

After extensive review, the Pinnacle Awards judges will select the finalists and then ultimately the winning designs. Considered the industry’s highest design honor, the Pinnacle Awards are open to all furniture and textile designers, manufacturers and students who are directly involved in designing home furnishings, décor, or textile products available for retail sale in the last year.

“I want to thank our panel of judges for volunteering their time and expertise in assisting us with reviewing and selecting the industry’s best designs for the 27^th annual Pinnacle Awards,” said David Blair, executive director of ISFD.

What is the secret to winning a Pinnacle Award? Blair continued, “The first step is to enter on the ISFD website by July 27, then you need a gorgeous product or collection that is innovative, functional, and fashionable.”

“Make sure that it has the correct aesthetics, it outperforms its competition, has a fantastic finish, is made from beautiful materials and is memorable. And if it is sustainable, you can also enter it for a Green Leaf Award. Based on these criteria it is easy to see why winning a Pinnacle Award is viewed as the industry’s most celebrated honor. But as they say, you cannot win unless you enter.”

The esteemed judges tasked with the difficult mission of reviewing the outstanding entries and selecting the best from each of the competitive home furnishings categories are:

~ Drew Alden, occasional buyer, Haverty’s

~ Nora Gomez, chief merchandising officer, Nebraska Furniture Mart

~ Casey Green, product design director, Magnolia

~ Corey Damen Jenkins, principal and chief executive officer, Corey Damen Jenkins & Associates

~ Alex Macias, owner, Del Sol Furniture

~ Lindsey Mather, editorial director of home, Domino

~ Gregg Prevost, ISFD, professional designer, retired

~ DuVäl Reynolds, owner and principal designer, DuVäl Design

~ Lauren Roses, editor, Furniture Today

~ Linda Simpson, partner, MC&Co Trend

~ Falyn Weinert, director of merchandising, Matter Brothers Furniture

Winning a Pinnacle Award has launched many successful design careers and elevated manufacturers to new levels of recognition.

According to D. Scott Coley, owner of D. Scott Coley Designs, winning a Pinnacle Award was “A boost in self-confidence. My first Pinnacle Award was for Charleston Forge in 1997. That experience, along with a few new clients, helped me establish my freelance design business. It gave Charleston Forge the confidence to provide us with more work and encouraged us to continue entering—and winning—the competition.”

Winning products will be promoted to retailers worldwide and will have the right to feature the 2023 Pinnacle Awards logo on all related media, collateral, and packaging.

ISFD would like to thank the 2023 Pinnacle Awards sponsors: Platinum Sponsor: AndMore; Silver Sponsor: High Point Market Authority; Bronze Sponsors: Continental Hardware, Furniture Design Studios, Leggett & Platt and Sherwin-Williams, along with partners Elements Studios, and Furniture Today. Also, thanks to the Sustainable Furnishings Council and the International Textile Alliance (ITA) for their continued support.