Four students honored in Surtex design competition

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/28/2012 11:34:31 AM

White Plains, N.Y. - Surtex, the trade show for surface art and design, has announced the winners of its designext contest for college students.
They are: Tai Lin Hsieh of San Francisco, a senior in textile design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco; Suzanne Lefebvre of Fairport, N.Y., a senior in the graphic and interior design at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y.; Poppy Maxfield of Lincolnshire, England, a third-year student in printed textiles and surface patterns at Leeds College of Art in Yorkshire, England; and Kirby Smith of Coatesville, Penn., a senior in the fibers department at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga.
Students were challenged to create an overall concept related to outdoor living and a minimum of six surface designs that projected future trends. The four winners will receive a trip to New York to attend Surtex, which is being held May 20-22 at the Jacob Javits Center. Judges will select one grand prize winner, who will be awarded a $1,000.
"These highly talented students have met and exceeded the judges' expectations at a very early stage in their professional development," said Penny Sikalis, vp of show organizer GLM and manager of the Surtex show.
This year's panel of judges included: Nancy Fire, design director, HGTV Home Brand, and founder, Design Works International; Ragna Frodadottir, creative director, Edelkoort, Inc.; Lynne Hopkins, vp of woven design, P/Kaufmann; and Robert Warden, design/creative director, Paperchase.