Students win scholarships for plywood designs

Six students from Western Washington University’s Industrial Design program received recognition and $6,000 in scholarships for their children’s furniture designs as a part of the annual Mount Baker Products Furniture Design Competition.

Western students, children, parents and a panel of five community members selected the winning designs among 23 different student projects. Entries were judged on concept, creativity, functionality, structure, craftsmanship and form.

They were judged by Lisa Van Doren, Paul Kearsley, Keri Lester, Kyle Thomas, and Michael Flaherty. Van Doren is the owner of Ideal, a design shop on in Bellingham. Kearsley is a designer and part time Industrial Design department faculty member at Western. Flaherty is a professional woodworker at Flaherty Woodworking. Lester is a teacher at Wade King Elementary School. Thomas is the lead industrial designer at Architectural Elements in Bellingham.

First prize and a $2,000 scholarship was awarded to Kathryn Bachen of Bainbridge Island for “Pull,” a wagon train to be used in therapy session activities with children at Western’s Speech-Language Hearing Clinic.

Second prize and a $1,500 scholarship was awarded to Sarah Burley of Olympia for her sensory table for tactile exploration and learning for a special-needs classroom of Wade King Elementary School in Bellingham.

Third prize and a $1,000 scholarship was awarded to Tianyi Geng of Issaquah for “Marble,” a marble run for a special-needs classroom at Wade King Elementary School in Bellingham.

Fourth prize and a $700 scholarship was awarded to Jordan Steranka of Snohomish for “Explore,” part furniture part play structure for Blossom Childcare.

Fifth place and a $500 scholarship was awarded to Sarah O’Sell of Kenmore for “Cave,” a multi-stool interactive play tunnel for special-needs preschool children at Happy Valley Elementary School.

Industrial Design students awarded Colton Sanford of Camano Island with the Designers Choice Award and a $500 scholarship for his Lego craft table for the Boys and Girls Club of Whatcom County.

Scholarship money and wood for the projects were provided by Mount Baker Products, Inc.

For more information, contact Jason Morris in Western's department of engineering technology, at 360-650-2514 or jason.morris@wwu.edu.