Hannah Pedigo, a student at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), has been selected to receive the International Society of Furniture Designers’ Foundation Scholarship (previously called the Touching Lives by Design scholarship) for the upcoming academic year. The scholarship will help offset tuition and other fees for the senior, who is majoring in furniture design.
Pedigo focused her winning entry on smartly designed, safe and affordable furnishings for families, and is informed by her active volunteerism with pre-school-age children. Those ongoing interactions helped her develop fresh but practical design ideas and solutions—a departure from some of the more theoretical or conceptual notions she saw in the academic realm. “People who purchase furniture have to rely on the designer,” Pedigo says. “They want peace of mind and to know they made a good investment.” She believes that her practice as a furniture designer must bridge the span between pragmatism and ardor. “The passion, quality, design and research must all be present to create something amazing,” she adds.
The ISFD Foundation Scholarship was established in 2010 by the ISFD Board of Directors with the instrumental help of long-time members Richard and Catherine Frinier to support gifted student designers from schools across the country. Currently, the scholarship pays $2,500 and is awarded in advance of the fall semester.
Pedigo, who hails from Batavia, IL, will be honored at the 2019 Night of Luminaries gala on November 6, 2019. During that event, she, along with Rising Star undergraduate students from schools across the southeast, will display their design projects and discuss their aspirations with top industry leaders and notables. The Night of Luminaries is co-sponsored by ISFD and International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA).
