Brown Jordan Intl., an American brand of outdoor luxury furnishings, has partnered with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) to mentor 16 students while they produced a collection of outdoor furniture. Within a 10-week quarter in collaboration with Brown Jordan, the students were tasked with researching, designing and building a collection of outdoor furniture.
SCAD sought expertise from professionals in the field so that the students could be given proper guidance, including Brown Jordan’s Chief Brand Curator Stephen F. Elton. Elton says of the collaboration, “It’s such an honor to help guide these extremely talented and innovative young minds. The pieces they created are both masterfully crafted and conceptually original.” Designer Richard Frinier visited the class at mid-term to review the students’ designs and give feedback.
Not only did Elton give support to the students during each phase of construction, but he also served as a judge at the end of the quarter and critiqued the final products. Guest judges included SCAD Honorary Dean of the School of Building Arts, Margaret Russell, and Dean of the School of Building Arts, Dr. Geoffrey S. Taylor. SCAD and Brown Jordan teamed up with Arbor Wood Co., which generously donated the materials used to produce the furniture. The company uses a unique process called thermal modification to organically extend the life of its wood products by using only heat and water to make the wood withstand outside elements.
Frederic Spector, Associate Chair of Furniture Design at SCAD, praised the collaboration saying, “We are thrilled to have had Brown Jordan so intimately involved in every step of the design process. The students benefitted greatly from Stephen’s advice and expertise.”
A select few pieces were given awards for a number of categories. The winners were Tahani Ahmed Aldeini for the Design Award, Aaron Tyler Atwood for the Innovation Award, and Quinten Juan Sanchez for the Materials Award. The award-winning works as well as some of the other top pieces debuted as part of SCAD’s exhibit at ICFF.
