Bienenstock Furniture and Interior Design Scholarship

The Bienenstock Furniture Library’s passion for education has enabled the Scholarship Program to reach hundreds of students and encourage education within the design and furniture industries. It is our desire to promote the best scholarship competition each year. The Furniture Design Competition design goal will be to complete a chair of original design to a set of requirements and specifications provided below. The Furniture Design category first place winner will be awarded a $5000.00 scholarship and receive national publicity for themselves and their school. The furniture design category second-place winner will receive a $1,500.00 scholarship. The first-place winner’s design school or department will receive a check for $1000.00.

Completed Entry Form due by December 10, 2025.  This entry form should be emailed along with the final completed entry submission.  The entry form should be saved as a separate PDF from the final project.  

Furniture Design competitors will need to attach ideation thumbnails; scale drawings, preferably in Auto-Cad or 3D Modeling software; and final renderings, either computer or marker.  Entries should be in pdf format.  The students name and school should NOT appear on this file.  Label your saved PDF file as 2023 Bienenstock Furniture Design Competition. 

Winners will be announced by March 1, 2026.  1st place winner - $5,000; 2nd place winner - $1,500; 1st place winner’s design school receives $1,000

DESIGN CHALLENGE - CHAIR  Seating form for one person, composed of horizontal surface, or seat, supported on legs with a vertical element, or back, rising from its read edge DICTIONARY OF FURNITURE Charles Boyce                  

• A chair of original design
• Chair must be aesthetically pleasing.  Create an offering that can be marketed to the residential and/or contract trade.  
• Any material or combination of materials will be acceptable
• Chair should be visually stunning, appropriate for manufacturing, fiscally feasible, and suitable within the constraints of mass production.
• Students need to provide proof of concept; this can be rendering AND/OR a built final entry project.  Construction of the actual piece is NOT required. Provide photographs of the building process if you choose to construct your entry piece.
• Scaled drawings/mechanical drawings/dimensional drawings are strongly suggested as part of your entry.
• Submissions should include a Design Brief consisting of a few short paragraphs explaining the design process from your inspiration through the final design.

SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS

Schools who want their students to enter competition must assign a faculty member to supervise the student.  It is suggested that the competition be implemented in your fall semester, but not required.

Judges for Furniture Design: Richard Frinier, Richard Frinier Design Studio; Danny Davis, Davis Furniture Industries, Inc.; Dudley Moore, ASFD, Otto & Moore Inc.; Royale Wiggin, Thayer Coggin Inc.; Scott Coley, D. Scott Coley Designs, LLC; David Williams, Wits End Design, Catina Roscoe, Catina Unlimited; Taylor West, West Design Group.