Two students from the Savannah College of Art and Design were named this year’s winners of the Richard Frinier Design Scholarship.
The students — Drew Hart and Sebastian Solloa — were awarded a two-night stay in Atlanta during the inaugural Casual Market Atlanta in July. Among the highlights for the two was the time they were able to spend with the renowned designer and his wife and business partner, Catherine Frinier. “They really made us feel at home and so graciously hosted us that weekend,” Hart said.
Hart, a senior at SCAD who is on track to graduate with a degree in furniture design in spring 2024, grew up in Cincinnati. He enjoys spending as much time as possible outdoors, including hiking, gardening, biking and kayaking. He also likes to read, sketch, write and connect with his community. But when the shop is open at school, he is usually there as much as possible building furniture or making smaller pieces such as bowls and vases on the lathe for his friends and family.
Hart’s winning submission to the scholarship committee was an outdoor collection titled Osiris. It is designed around the concept of bringing people together through intentional design. "This piece was designed by the strong values my family has instilled in me, especially the importance of spending quality time with the ones you love. I aimed to design a piece that fills the need for genuine connections and allows families to host loved ones," Hart said.
Solloa grew up in Mexico City near a town called Satellite, where he studied architecture. Before he finished his degree in architecture, he was contacted by the tennis coach at SCAD and he ended up enrolling as a tennis athlete. He graduated from SCAD with a bachelor of fine arts in furniture design and design for sustainability in March 2022.
Since graduating, he has been developing his design studio while offering sustainability assessments for different companies. He is currently the sustainability director for a furniture manufacturing company in Mexico while also designing kitchens and working as a design consultant for Crate & Barrel.
Solloa’s submission to the committee was a project called Calma, an indoor/outdoor piece inspired by nature. Through the use of biomimicry, design and poetry, Solloa says, he was able to transform the shape of a folding leaf into a chair.
The ICFA / Richard Frinier Design Scholarship was established in 2016 to inspire design students in the creation of innovative outdoor living spaces for residential, contract and hospitality environments. The annual scholarship is awarded to the winner of an online competition in which college-level students submit their original designs for outdoor living products. For more information, visit https://www.icfanet.org/richardfrinierdesignscholarship/.
