Students Compete For Scholarship Funding Through Furniture Design Challenge

Virginia Furniture Market owner Joel Shepherd.
Virginia Furniture Market owner Joel Shepherd.

Virginia Furniture Market has engaged local college students in its first annual VFM Design Challenge. This year, students from Liberty University in Lynchburg are competing in an 8-week competition with winners to receive $5,000 in scholarship funding.

The VFM Design Challenge was developed to involve local college students studying interior design with “real world” experience in the furniture & design industry. LU Interior Design professor Lisa Campbell built this semester’s syllabus around the competition. Prof Campbell shares, “The Design Challenge provides a truly unique portfolio building opportunity and an unforgettable collegiate experience marrying real-world interaction between designer and client coupled with classroom instruction.”

Students in LU’s Materials & Design Specifications class (345) spent time learning from VFM owner Joel Shepherd, as well as making trips to three of the VFM stores in Bedford & Rocky Mount. They worked in small teams throughout the semester developing architectural room drawings, studying trends, interviewing VFM sales staff, learning to manage timelines (ordering furniture, paint & accessories), selecting home decor items from the VFM Outlet & ultimately developing Look Books and presenting to a panel from VFM.

“All of us at Virginia Furniture Market have thoroughly enjoyed the process of working with the faculty and students from Liberty University during the First Annual VFM Design Challenge,” said Shepherd. “We look forward to continuing this relationship in the future as we grow to include other Universities in the VFM Design Challenge.”

Voting for a People’s Choice winner is currently underway in the VFM Bedford & Rocky Mount stores as well as online on the Virginia Furniture Market Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/170966960034998/?active_tab=discussion)

People’s Choice winners will be announced when a check for $5,000 will be presented to Liberty University on December 6th (“icing on the cake” shares Prof Campbell). This presentation event will include LU’s Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Roger Schultz, Department Chair, Dr. Debbie Benoit, and other invited guests.

Shepherd said he was awed by the professionalism of the students’ presentations and shares, “It is apparent that the LU students spent a great deal of thoughtful time and energy on this process, and we are honored to support them in their future design endeavors.”

Student room displays are set up in both Bedford and Rocky Mount VFM locations.

Bassett Furniture contributed two sofas at wholesale for the displays and Ashley Furniture contributed $1,000 (retail) toward occasional pieces used in the students in-store displays.

For more information, you may contact Joel Shepherd directly at [email protected] or Professor Lisa Campbell at [email protected].

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