MARIETTA, GA.—Do you have an eye for cutting-edge carpet design? Durkan, the hospitality brand of The Mohawk Group, is calling on design professionals and students to discover a new way to express their creativity with its second annual carpet design contest. Supported by NEWH (The Network of the Hospitality Industry), D*scover aims to exhibit the talent of hospitality designers, while contributing toward the education of future designers. Participants will compete for the opportunity to travel to the HD Expo and Conference (HD Expo), which will be held May 18 to 20, 2011 in Las Vegas, and showcase their winning carpet designs to an international audience of industry influencers. A student winner will receive a Durkan scholarship from NEWH.
“The positive response to last year’s call for entries is testament to the enthusiasm and passion that exists for fresh, innovative hospitality design,” said Barbara Marcy, director of Creative Design, Durkan. “Providing a platform for professional and student designers from a variety of industries to explore their design ability aligns so closely with our organization’s mission to foster a new generation of talent in our industry.”
This year the submission period for D*scover has been extended, providing interested design professionals added time to develop captivating and eye-catching designs. Additionally, it provides educators the opportunity to encourage student designer participation by integrating the contest into course syllabuses. To complete a submission, participants must design four print carpet patterns characteristic of hospitality spaces: large corridor; large ballroom; large or medium pre-function/meeting room carpet; and a border, fill or carpet tile (24” x 24”) design.
Entries will be evaluated on concept, presentation and market feasibility by a panel of industry professionals, including NEWH president Helen L. Reed and Durkan’s Barbara Marcy, and will award a grand prize to one design professional and one student. Along with being featured in NEWH publications and Durkan’s website and product catalogues, these winners will travel to HD Expo in Las Vegas, where their designs will be showcased within Durkan’s booth. Cash prizes will be awarded to second and third place professionals. All winners will be officially announced on the first day of HD Expo at a special cocktail event hosted by Durkan.
D*scover is open to all NEWH members and submissions are due March 4, 2011. Durkan will notify the grand prize professional winner in advance to allow time for sample production of the designs to be displayed at HD Expo. Visit www.durkan.com/dscover for complete rules and entry forms. Last year’s grand prize winners included Karen Bradley, Group One Partners, Inc (Professional Category) and Emily Riebkes, University of Northern Iowa (Student Category).
