Surtex 2011 "designext" student competition to be judges by five industry vets

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 1/5/2011 2:46:55 PM

White Plains, NY - Five veterans of the home furnishings industry will make up the panel of judges for the 2011 "designext" student competition at the upcoming Surtex show in New York in mid May.
Surtex describes the competition as the "highlight" of the market's 25th anniversary celebration. Surtex claims to be the only business-to-business marketplace in North American that is devoted exclusively to the sale and licensing of original art and design for product development in all categories.
Announced by Penny Sikalis, vp of GLM and Surtex show manager, the panel of judges will include: Violet Brandwein of Kate's Paperie; Henny Lakin, creative director and vp for design and product development for Creative Bath Products Inc.; Diane Piemonte, vp of creative services for Revman InternationalInc.; Ronald Redding, vp of design at York Wallcoverings; and Eddie Ross, the former food and decorating editor at Martha Stewart Living, Food Network, and House Beautiful who is now a partner in the upstate New York design firm Eddie Ross Inc.
"The best and brightest students are being judged by some of the best and brightest talents in the design industry," Sikalis said. "And since the objective of the SURTEX student competition is to jump-start the winners' careers, the brilliance of the judges themselves adds enormous clout to the awards."
The annual Surtex student design competition is attracting entries from students at the top 50 design schools around the world, Sikalis noted. This year's challenge is to create a collection of original surface designs to be used in a commercial interior in the year 2020.
The deadline for entries is Feb. 24.
Then in early March, the judges will select four winners who will be invited to take part in the Surtex show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. They will be invited to display their winning entries at the Surtex show, scheduled May 15 to 17, which is expected to attract about 6,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors from over 40 countries.
The prize-winners will also have their portfolios professionally critiqued during the Surtex show, and one of the four will be singled out for special recognition, including a $1,000 cash award.