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Student Design Competition Showcases Creative Product Concepts at 2008 International Home + Housewares Show
Winning Designs Combine Function and Flair
ROSEMONT, Ill. (Feb. 13, 2008)—Innovative products that serve multiple functions and provide storage solutions are among the top winners in the 15th annual Student Design Competition, sponsored by the International Housewares Association (IHA).
A jury of designers in the blind judging contest recognized great concepts, backed up with research, development and creative design, to award a total of 19 prizes to students in 11 design schools from coast to coast. Sarah O’Brien, a senior at the University of Louisiana, earned first place and $2,400 for her design of Elizabowl, a flexible fruit bowl that expands and contracts to store and display various types and sizes of fruit. Separate compartments for each piece of fruit help minimize bruising and significantly reduce the transfer of ethylene gas that causes over-ripening. This was O’Brien’s second entry in the IHA competition; she received an honorable mention in 2006.
The product prototypes and their creators will take center stage at the Housewares Design Center at the 2008 International Home + Housewares Show, March 16-18, at Chicago's McCormick Place. The Show is expected to attract 60,000 visitors from more than 100 countries all focused on buying and selling the latest products at the world’s largest homegoods marketplace.
