DURKAN D*SCOVERS DESIGNERS PUSHING THE CREATIVE ENVELOPE

Durkan Unveils Annual Hospitality Carpet Design Contest Winners at HD Expo

From  organic and natural  designs to conceptual visions of urban splendor, it’s no doubt this year’s third annual D*SCOVER contest from Durkan – the hospitality brand of the Mohawk Group – was fierce. Today, Durkan announced the grand prize winners from student and professional categories who cut through the competition and unveiled their winning designs at HD Expo 2012.

This is the third year Durkan has partnered with NEWH (The Network of the Hospitality Industry) to highlight the talent of professional and emerging designers through D*SCOVER during the hospitality industry’s largest tradeshow. Those individuals selected as the grand prize winners for this year’s competition include:

• Professional Category: Denver-native Alexandra Pilgrim, an interior designer with Lot 11 Ltd, wowed judges with her kaleidoscope-inspired submission. Perfectly blending the symmetry and juvenile quality that a kaleidoscope exudes, Pilgrim’s design uses rich hues and intricate details to capture the imagination. Patterns for ballrooms, corridors, meeting spaces and borders play on a kaleidoscope’s ever-changing designs. In addition to showing her designs at HD Expo, Pilgrim received a cash prize and will have her designs featured in Durkan’s product catalogs.
• Sent Category: Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Lorin Bordeville’s design focuses on a reflected glass concept derived from an urban landscape, merging modern motifs with natural reflection. Fueling this concept’s inspiration is rain, mist and the ocean mirror textures of the urban world and how the city landscape, specifically Vancouver, reacts. With an expected graduation date of 2013, Bordeville has a bright future ahead. As the grand prize student winner, Bordeville was presented a $2,000 scholarship and his design will be on display at the Durkan booth.

“The talent and creativity shown by all of this year’s D*SCOVER applicants exceeded expectations,” said Barbara Marcy, director of creative design, Durkan. “Each entry was a unique window into the minds of these designers. We saw how their inspirations influenced their artistic nature to push the limits of possibility. To say picking a winner was difficult would be a true understatement.”

All D*SCOVER submissions were evaluated on concept, presentation and market feasibility by a panel of industry professionals including: NEWH President Julia Davis-Marks, president of DesignOverStock and creative director of Fiori Artes; NEWH Vice President of Marketing Trisha Poole, president of Design Poole, Inc; 2011 NEWH President Helen L. Reed of H.L. Reed Design Inc; and Barbara Marcy, Durkan’s own creative design director.

The following D*SCOVER participants were also rewarded for their commendable designs:

• Kayla McCullough, Canter and Associates/Second Place Professional
• Ann Borrelli Smith, DPOVinteriors/Third Place Professional
• Divina Balazo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas/Second Place Student
• Takuya Imoto, Harrington College of Design/Third Place Student
• Grace O’Brien, Art Institute of Seattle/Honorable Mention Student
• Erin Saucier, Kwantlen Polytechnic University/Honorable Mention Student
• Blair Thomson, Kwantlen Polytechnic University/ Honorable Mention Student

The D*SCOVER grand prize winners were recognized at a special cocktail event hosted by Durkan at HD Expo. Their designs will be on display throughout the show. Visit www.durkan.com/dscover for additional information about the contest and the winners.   

Sustaining Talent with ENDOW

Pilgrim’s and Bordeville’s award-winning designs join last year’s D*SCOVER designs as part of Durkan’s growing collection of patterns that benefit NEWH’s ENDOW scholarship program. As one of the first companies to commit to ENDOW, Durkan continues to lead support of programs that contribute to the talent of young professionals entering the hospitality industry. When designers select any of the patterns from Durkan’s ENDOW collection of patterns, a portion of the sale will go to the scholarship fund. Check out Durkan’s latest D*Zine, available at HD Expo (booth #3410) to view other ENDOW patterns.