Hailong Piao and Janejira Bualoy have won the popular vote at High Point Furniture Market in the Groovystuff By Design: Connecting Education with Industry Challenge.
The student competition from reclaimed teak furniture vendor Groovystuff recognized Piao from Auburn University and Bualoy from KMITL in Bangkok, Thailand, for their innovative contributions to the home furnishings.
Hailong and Janejira competed against undergraduates from their respective schools to design an environmentally-friendly product that reflects the celebrity Dick Idol Legends brand and can be produced using sustainable manufacturing practices. Students produced miniature models and product display boards for market attendees to vote on during the Fall High Point Market.
The "Comfort Zone" Rocking Chair by industrial design student Hailong Piao "is a leisure chair that integrates the rocking chair motion into a leisure chair. Comfortable uses of natural and recycled materials are utilized for optimal comfort."
"When I was a child, I usually viewed the factory near my home and was always interested in the manufacturing process," he said. "My interest in manufacturing started the same time I started learning to paint. In college I began studying Industrial Design as an undergraduate and have enjoyed the process of making a "life" for the products I design and is the number one reason I came to the United States."
"Casual seating is a huge category for Groovystuff, and Hailong got the attention of the High Point market attendees with his creative use of our reclaimed parts and the marketability and versatility of his design," said Chris Bruning, founder of the Education with Industry cooperative. Bruning added that buyers also commented on the multipurpose of the design and the way the product fits into the celebrity endorsed Dick Idol Legends brand yet doesn't compete with the other licensed partners.
The "Xylophone Table" by Janejira Bualoy was "inspired by the Thai xylophone and is accented with teak branches giving the piece a closer feeling to nature. The Xylophone table was designed as a multipurpose coffee table or bench and features a decorative storage space."
