The Savannah College of Art and Design's furniture design department will host the first-ever university-sponsored furniture industry conference, "Furniture Design Summit 2011: Re-Defining American Design," May 9-10 at SCAD Savannah. The American Society of Furniture Designers and Metropolis magazine are partnering with SCAD for the summit.
The goal of "Furniture Design Summit 2011: Re-Defining American Design" is to establish the first summit focused on bringing designers and manufacturers together to discuss the present and future of the furniture industry. "SCAD is proud to bring to Savannah cutting-edge thinkers to exchange ideas and plan for the future of this multi-million dollar industry," said Antonio Larosa, chair of SCAD's furniture design department. "Our students will also have the great opportunity to experience the summit firsthand, which will give them a one-of-a-kind career preparation."
"Furniture design and manufacturing, like every other human endeavor in an age of climate change, is experiencing major reassessments by all of its protagonists," commented Metropolis editor-in-chief Susan Szenasy, who will moderate all of the panels during the summit. "From the safety and efficiency of manufacturing, to facilities, to how marketers sell new products to whom, to the kinds of research that needs to upgrade the industry, to how design students learn what's coming, the SCAD furniture design summit promises to put a spotlight on these and other pressing questions. I'm eagerly anticipating what will be seen and heard there. And I can't wait to engage speakers, guests, faculty and students in my role as moderator."
The summit will launch on Monday, May 9, and will begin with individual presentations from Gregg Buchbinder, owner and CEO of Emeco; Jay Reardon, president of Hickory Chair; and Alan Heller, founder and president of Heller Inc. The day will close with a keynote panel with Buchbinder, Reardon and Heller, moderated by Szenasy. Day two, Tuesday, May 10, will begin with individual talks from designer, author and filmmaker Eames Demetrios and Szenasy, followed by a closing panel with Demetrios, Jenny Heinzen York, editor-in-chief of Home Accents Today, and SCAD's Larosa, also moderated by Szenasy. All events will take place at SCAD's River Club, 3 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Savannah.