The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) New Jersey and the Chalfin family has revealed the winners of the 2018 Samuel and Rhoda Chalfin Memorial Student Design Competition.
Created to encourage the development of future designers, the competition challenges participants to design a piece of furniture – this year it was a chair. Students had to clearly state their vision and provide supporting renderings and elevations.
Top Honors
Taking home the first place honor was Joanna Truszkowski from Brookdale Community College with her chair titled Petal Hideaway. Grace Meyer, also from Brookdale, took home second place with her creation, Green Chair; and third place winner, Lindsay Mazzeo from Kean University, impressed judges with the Grand Disc. All the winners were awarded a stipend to assist them with educational costs.
Courtesy of Samuelson Furniture
Inspired by the Frangipani flower that grows in tropical and serene environments, Truszkowski wanted to make the Petal Hideaway chair a piece of furniture that would invite people to relax and forget about their worries.
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“Many people are so frustrated and overwhelmed from their everyday lives and need to take a moment to appreciate the life that they’re living,” she says.
It was the support and encouragement from her teacher that motivated her to enter the competition (her first), and she says it has been a great learning experience. “My teacher Celeste always pushes us to be the best that we can be and always encourages us to compete in design competitions.”
Paying Tribute to History
“It’s important to our family and our company that we continue to host this competition,” says Michael Chalfin, vice president of Samuelson Furniture and grandson of Samuel and Rhoda Chalfin. “We really enjoy working with ASID NJ and it’s an honor to help the younger generation of designers find their career paths.”
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The winners were announced during a career day event in late October at the Center for the Visual Arts at Brookdale Community College. The competition was judged by ASID designers and educators and the Samuelson Furniture corporate team at its headquarters in New Jersey. The judging guidelines were based on points for the vision statement, execution of the project, creativity and functionality.
In addition to the winners’ work, each entry received was on display at the career day event to showcase the hard work of all the students who participated in the competition. The career day schedule also included programming such as portfolio reviews, headshots, various panels and a keynote presentation called “My Road to Leadership Through ASID” with speaker Tim Schelfe.
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