BiOHpolyols Project UDesign: A Soy Love Alifair

 

BiOHpolyols ' Project UDesign, is a contest, in collaboration with the Savannah College of Art and Design (@SCADdotedu), Century Furniture, and Toray Ultrasuede to crowdsource "the next generation sustainable wing chair."

Important dates for voting 

(All voting is only online at http://facebook.com/BiOHFans)

There are currently 6 designs and 5 semi-finalist students. Between now and Oct. 3rd at 11: 59 pm, all can vote for the 3 finalists. They will be selected only  by those who vote online and the 3 finalists will be announced on Monday, Oct. 4th on  www.facebook.com/BiOHFans

The voting for the three finalists announced on Oct. 4th will end at 11: 59pm , Tuesday, Oct. 19th and that person who has the most votes will win. The winner will be chosen only by online votes and none of the partners or related parties have any say so in the winner. It is completely the public's choice.

The winner will be announced at High Point Market on Wednesday, Oct. 20th in the Century Courtyard at the start of  Withit's  student mentoring day-approx. 9:15 am.

 

What's in it for the Winner?

1. $1000 from BiOH immediately
2. Their winning design will be produced and put into Century's regular line up for intro at the Spring 2011 High Point Market
3. The winning student will be paid royalties by Century on all sales of their winning chair once it's produced.
4. A lot of publicity!
 

The Alifair Chair by Ryland Quillen

"I thought about the concept of a wing chair, the wings providing comfort and a sense of enclosure. I realized, however, that if the wings are too imposing, they can block vision to the right and left when sitting in the chair. To cope with this, I decided to employ cut offs, creating a window large enough to see to either side when sitting. The gently swooping curve on either side suggests  the feeling of warmth and comfort without hindering sight.

Alifair is shown here upholstered in Charcoal Ultrasuede with contrasting Black Onyx piping and in Kagan Red Ultrasuede. The legs on the chair are tapered and shown in dark mahogany. Alifair will utilize Cargill's environmentally conscious BiOH foam." 

I have been off the blogosphere for many good reasons which I will explain in the next blog post but I was too excited about this project that I couldn't let it pass. First of all, as a furniture manufacturer and designer for SNUG , we Soy Love our BiOH and believe that sustainable design can be beautiful, contrary to what many people think. Some of you may wonder why I'm blogging about Century Furniture when I represent SNUG. I firmly believe that as manufacturers, distributors,  retailers, designers, and consumers, it is our responsibility to use and specify sustainable resources for our quality furniture and home accessories. By sharing and coming together, the opportunity to have a major impact in the reduction of oil used and energy saved is huge. For every 1 million pounds of BiOH's soy polyol ingredient sold to the major foam manufacturers, 84,000 barrels of petroleum are saved. 

I won't bore you any further with statistics....So how did I get to picking this particular one? It's no secret that I'm a furniture girl at heart and the cut out wings immediately resonated with me in 5 seconds. I looked at the others and went back to this one in a heartbeat .  As they say, don't overthink it. The designer, Ryland Quillen's, words "the wings providing comfort and a sense of enclosure" and "the gently swooping curves suggesting warmth and comfort" screamed snuglicious!

Here's how I've created a Frou La La tableau with my favorite things using sustainable resources (natural, recycled, repurposed, biodegradable, energy efficient) without looking granola.  Please click on image to enlarge.

clockwise from top left: Alifair wings with the Ultrasuede  black onyx contrast piping | a postcard from one of my European trips as inspiration (Uptown, 1968 by Richard Lindner - the original is in Neue Museum in Nurnberg) | set of 4 1970s glass rod and chrome pendant lights (orig. USA) with adjustable cords for accent and illumination from Irwin Feld Design   | a Stuart Weitzman ad which also serves as an inspirational sweet edgy image | Alifair Wing Chair in Ultrasuede charcoal by Ryland Quillen (shoutout to vote!) | pugella diamond tuft sofa, tattoo cocktail table and link end table by SNUG  |  salvaged solid American white oak top with  steel and cast iron base by AT-95  | undyed, 100% unprocessed Tibetan wool by Inigo Elizalde Rugs  | LED stardust floor pillow glow-in-the-dark red by Mario Bellini from Moss  | Jil Sander sandals (as some of you know, I have to inject a solemate into my interiors) | Alifair Wing Chair in Ultrasuede Kagan Red | jet stream cowhide leather wallpaper in mint, teal, rita, azalea, platinum by Kyle Bunting | 1970s lucite and resin gazelle head from Irwin Feld Design 

Key Links to Remember

BiOH's blog: http://experiencebioh.com

Site for voting: http://facebook.com/BiOHFans

Site for watching the videos of the students: http://youtube/com/user/BiOHpolyols

Online voters will choose  the first sustainable wing chair to be crowdsourced  and produced 
(once winner is chosen) in the history of the furniture industry. What are you waiting for? VOTE NOW!