We are excited to announce our sponsorship of Project UDesign.

Posted by Jenny, BiOH Polyols Marketing Assistant on July 15, 2010

Have you ever been curious about what goes into the furniture design process? What the inside of a factory REALLY looks like? What furniture designers think about before they start sketching? What kinds of sustainable materials are available to make eco-friendly furniture? READ ON to learn more!

WHAT IS Project UDesign?

A fun way to meet people online and offline, network within the furniture industry and with the event partners, pick the winning student who creates your favorite upholstered wing chair design- which will be produced by Century Furniture- and, at the same time, learn more about eco friendly and sustainable materials like “soy foam” used in furniture!

Working together with our partners for this event – Century Furniture, Ultrasuede EcoDesign, and the students enrolled in the summer semester of the Soft Furnishings Studio course at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) – your votes and help in sharing this contest with your friends can spread the word about eco friendly furniture options and, at the same time, enable you to help the winning student receive:

1. A $1000.00 cash prize from BiOH Polyols at the close of the Fall High Point Market on Oct. 20th!
2. The addition of their winning eco friendly wing chair design to Century Furniture’s permanent line-up, with production to begin this fall!
3. Royalties from Century Furniture on each chair that gets made and sold!

HOW WILL IT WORK?

All summer, we’ll post updates and videos of the students on http://experiencebioh.com and on our YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/BiOHpolyols so you can get to know the students, see their creative design process and understand the options available for choosing eco-friendlier materials for the furniture you buy in stores or custom order to your specifications.

On Friday, Sept. 3rd, the sponsoring industry partners will make the first cut, selecting six of the student’s designs from those submitted.

On Wednesday, Sept. 8th, those six rendered designs will be posted to http://facebook.com/BiOHFans. Then, YOU! will have almost a month to vote for YOUR favorites. On Monday, Oct. 4th your three finalists will be announced.

The final voting for your winning wing chair design will take place in two places:

1. On http://facebook.com/BiOHFans between Monday, Oct. 4th and Wednesday, Oct. 20th
2. In Century Furniture’s showroom, for those attending the Fall High Point Market, Oct. 16th-20th. Also at Century, don’t miss an industry wide Tweetup on Monday evening, Oct. 18th where you can mix and mingle with the three SCAD finalists. Mark your calendars and save the date!

HOW AND WHERE WILL THE WINNER BE ANNOUNCED?

On Wednesday morning, Oct. 20th, all votes submitted on http://facebook.com/BiOHFans and in Century Furniture’s showroom during High Point market Oct. 16th-Oct. 20th will be tallied to determine the winning design.

Will it be your favorite eco friendly wing chair design that is announced at WithIt‘s (Women In The Home Industries Today, www.withit.org) student mentoring luncheon and on the national newswire Wednesday, Oct. 20th?

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

Stay tuned and vote! Also, by spreading the word about Project UDesign, you can help to raise awareness for eco-friendly furniture options – and to make one talented, young designer’s dream come true!

The next generation of furniture designers from SCAD is excited to participate – and we hope that you are, too!