Nine textile design students win Virginia Jackson awards

Winning designs to be display at Showtime, June 5-8

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 26, 2011

HIGH POINT — Nine winners have been named in the annual Virginia Jackson Design Competition, sponsored by the Educational Foundation of the International Textile Market Assn., producer of the semiannual Showtime fabric show here.

The awards recognize outstanding textile design students in three categories - jacquard, dobby and print.

This year, 63 entries from 11 schools were judged on aesthetic form, ability to be manufactured and applicability to furniture products. The top designs will be displayed in Suites at Market Square throughout summer Showtime, June 5-8.

"A big part of the mission of ITMA's Educational Foundation is to encourage creative individuals to enter the home furnishings textile field, and we are always thrilled by the excellence of the entries we received," says Catherine Morsell, executive director.

The winners in each category are:

• Jacquard, first place, Leigh Hawkins, North Carolina State University; second place, Natasha Rosenberg, Rhode Island School of Design; honorable mention, Katherine Labate, Philadelphia University.

• Dobby, first place, Mary Armacost, Philadelphia University; second place, Marissa Haback, Rhode Island School of Design; honorable mention, Julia Frisch, Rhode Island School of Design.

• Print, first place, Aubrey Owada, Michigan State University; second place, Jessica Cates Miller, University of Georgia; honorable mention, Elizabeth Weissert, Philadelphia University.

Each winner receives a monetary prize and each first-place winner's school also receives $1,000 donated to its textile design department.

In addition, the first-place winners in each category will be flown expenses-paid to Showtime to be honored and meet with members of the industry during an evening social event. The students are encouraged to bring their portfolios with them.

Schools taking part in the competition included East Carolina University, Georgia State University, High Point University, Kansas City Art Institute, Michigan State University, North Carolina State University, Philadelphia University, Rhode Island School of Design, Syracuse University, University of Georgia and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Judges were Wesley Mancini, Wesley Mancini Ltd.; Kim Grimsley, K. Grimsley Designs; Todd Bowles and Roxy Ulmsten, both of Convergence; Sara Gray, Design Consultant Sourcing; Todd Nifong, Altizer & Co. Decorative Textiles; Cathy Smith, De Leo Textiles; and Erica Youngleson, American Decorative Fabrics.