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From Home Furnishing Business

Meghan Wilson Wins Groovystuff Design Challenge

November 5, 2013  by in Green, High Point, Industry, Market   

Wilson, an undergraduate studying industrial design at Auburn University, placed first in the competition's popular vote during last month's High Point Furniture Market.

Wilson was one of 16 students in Auburn's Industrial Design participating with Groovystuff for the challenge's fall 2013 academic semester. Under the guidance of professor Tin-Man Lau, and combined with design direction from the Groovystuff staff via Facebook, students were tasked with developing a residential home furnishings product utilizing the reclaimed materials found in the Groovystuff product line. 
 
The class was then given a sponsored space at the High Point Market in “The University Hall of Innovation & Job Creation” to showcase their to the trade professionals attending the annual market, who voted on the marketability of the student designs.

Wilson's “Diverso Game Table” placed first in the competition. She will will receive a cash prize and will be the first of her class to have a design go into quotation and production by Groovystuff.

“Literally just before classes started and right after summer studio, Tin-Man offered a furniture studio that collaborated with Groovystuff," Wilson said. :At this point I had never designed anything, so I was a little intimidated but jumped at the opportunity to take the class. My minor is sustainability, so I was very happy that I would be designing for a company that had such a big emphasis on reclaimed material.”
 
This is the third consecutive year the Auburn Industrial Design Department has participated in the sustainable design program established in 2010 by Chris Bruning of Groovystuff, which specializes in home furnishings in reclaimed materials.

“The wonderful relationship that the School of Industrial and Graphic Design at Auburn University has with Groovystuff allowed our students to be exposed to and participate in the High Point Furniture Market in a direct and meaningful way," said Clark Lundell, chair and head of the Industrial & Graphic Design Department at Auburn. "Chris Bruning has not only exposed our students and their designs to the market but also encouraged and brought them into the realm of product development and sales.”
 
Groovystuff's not-for-profit 2013 Icon Award Winning “University Hall of Innovation & Job Creation” and “Groovystuff by Design: Connecting Education with Industry Challenge” are a breakthrough approach to the nurturing of home furnishings design talent in partnership with leading U.S. colleges and universities.