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Student Design '99

The contest was the Association's first nationwide woodworking contest. It was free and open for students in high schools or post secondary schools including colleges, universities, trade, art and union apprenticeship schools. Student Design '99 was held in conjunction with the 1999 AWFS^® Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair^® in Anaheim, California.

The furniture categories for the contest were: Chairs (to include rocking, dining, office chairs); Tables (to include dining and occasional tables); Furniture-Casework/Cabinets (to include vanity, desk, bookcase); Fantasy Furniture (multi-use and exploratory pieces); and Special Theme Category '99: Residential Computer Desks.

The judges meticulously rated each entry received based on overall appearance, creativity, innovative use of materials, functionality/practicality, ease of production, difficulty, quality of construction, and the quality of the finish.

Eight individuals served as judges for the contest, including furniture designers, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and members of the trade press. The judges are: (in alphabetical order by company name)

Name Company

Beverly Dunne Custom Woodworking Business Magazine

Mark Singer Giati Furniture

Eric Guenther Glabman Furniture

Danny Finegood Good Companies Inc.

Jack Schmitt Jack Schmitt Design Associates

Nick Lanphier Oakwood Interiors

Al Sandberg Sandberg Furniture

Duane Griffith Stiles Machinery, Inc.

First place award carried with it a cash prize of $1,000. The "Presidents Award - Best of Show" award had a cash prize of $2,000 to the student and $2,500 to the school. Additionally, all finalists received award certificates, prominent exposure at the Woodworking Fair^® and inclusion in the resume distribution program.

The winners of the 1999 Student Design Contest are:

The "Presidents Award - Best of Show" was presented to Peter Martin of Cerritos College, California with his instructor John Nyquist. Walnut Armchair A handcrafted armchair featuring an S-curve design element throughout the piece to create unity with a crest rail construction. The seat features black leather upholstery to compliment dark areas of walnut grain.

Chairs/Post Secondary (no high school entry) Luis Guerra Cerritos College, Calif. Carmen Stool The stool, based on the mathematical concept of "three", features the triangular shape of the legs as well as the foot rest. Made from a combination of black walnut for the seat, English sycamore for the legs and Macassar ebony for the butterfly keys.

Tables/High School Emily Eidenier Orange High, North Carolina. Sun Dance The piece functions as a sideboard table, and constructed using solid walnut, poplar, cherry and osage orange. The tabletop is made of particle board covered in cherry, walnut, harewood, lacewood and avodire veneers.

Tables/Post Secondary Chris Harling Oregon College of Art & Craft Family Game Table The designer used kahya with green milk paint and finished it with three thin coats of orange shellac and four coats of a gloss nitrocellulose lacquer rubbed out with four-aught steel wool to obtain a silky smooth matte finish.

Furniture, Casework/ High School Luis Sanchez Luis Hernandez, Clemente Garcia Francisco Gutierrez San Marcos High, Calif. Desk The desk represents custom case work that is typical in today's modern commercial cabinetmaking factories. Materials used are plywood with lacewood woodgrain laminate, solid cherry caps, MDF substrate with bird's eye maple laminate.

Furniture, Casework/ Post Secondary (TIE)
1. Bo Prince Palomar College, Calif. Music Writing Desk Inspired by the music of Tchaikovsky, the motif is both romantic and contemporary. The legs are 1/8 musical notes. Made from maple, walnut and poplar with a "treble cleff" inlay of East Indian rosewood.
2. Jari-Pekka Vilkman College of the Redwood, Calif. "Fat Boy" Designed as a large storage space, using shop sawn veneers, the outside veneer is sawn from an old plank of Honduras mahogany, the inside veneer is "regular" Honduras mahogany with the core consisting of Apple ply.

Fantasy/Post Secondary (no high school entry) Dan Mumma Pittsburgh State Univ. Altered Craftman Queen-size bed frame derived from the craftsman-style of furniture design. Ever-widening slats impart the appearance of a curved surface when combined with the angled rails. Woods utilized were black walnut, limba, purpleheart, and southern red.