A highlight of the Friday night Awards Banquet at the AWFS Vegas Fair was announcement of the winners of the Fresh Wood Student Design Competition. After putting their hearts and souls into their projects, students waited anxiously to hear who took top honors, and the joy of the winners was contagious.

The 50 projects that were selected as finalists from a total of 165 were on display throughout the show. With entries from both high school and post-secondary schools, the quality and imaginativeness of this year’s entries was exceptional. The judges panel made their final selections on Tuesday, the day before the show opened. There were 7 different categories in which students could enter; first-, second-place and honorable mentions were awarded in most categories.

There also was a “Best of Show” award, which this year went to a project called “An Apple a Day,” a coffee table entered in the Open category, high school level. It was built by Tyler Duperron of Fletcher’s Meadow Secondary School in Brampton, ON, Canada. Duperron said that he wanted to create a table, but break free of the four-legs-and-a-top tradition. He created the half-apple using stack laminated multiple rings of MDF, with bookmatched quilted maple veneer on the top.

"An Apple a Day" was the Best in Show at the 2009 Fresh Wood Student Design Competition at AWFS.

A small liquor cabinet, called “Scotch Cabinet” by its creator, Andrew Wallace of College of the Redwoods in Mendocino, CA, was
first-place in the case goods category at the post-secondary level. Wallace said he was inspired by a waterfall in the design and chose Yaka wood because he felt it conveyed the feeling of falling water and had a color similar to redwoods that popular the area. The name reflects Wallace’s drink of choice.

"Scotch Cabinet,” by Andrew Wallace

Winner of the case goods category at the high school level was a dresser called “Simply Complex,” built by student Blake Fullenwider of Dale Jackson Career Center, Lewisville, TX. The striking feature is its top, which has 300 individual pieces that were cut on a CNC router, following a design formatted using WoodWop and AutoCAD software. Fullenwider said he wanted to create a pattern that looked sharp, but not too busy. The case itself is walnut, with a cherry skirt that matches the cherry on the top.

“Simply Complex,” built by student Blake Fullenwider

In addition, attendees at the show were given an opportunity to vote for their favorite projects, with votes tallied Friday afternoon. The winner of the “People’s Choice” award was "Wandering Roses," entered into the Tables, High School category. Student designer is Timothy Keating of Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough, NC.

Other winners are as follows:

HIGH SCHOOL:

Case Goods, second place: “Crimson Avian,” Antelmo Beltran, Dale Jackson Career Center.

Class Project, first place: “The Chair,” John Barry, Halifax County High School, Buffalo Junction, VA.

Open, first place: Duperron’s “An Apple a Day.”

Open, honorable mention: “Ocean Planet,” Andrew Prioli, Cedar Ridge High School, Chapel Hill, NC, and “Cogsworth,” Hannah Stickelman, Ontario High School, Mansfield, OH

Production/Contract, first place: “Pondera” Brady Reed, Quinter High School, Quinter, KS

Reproduction, honorable mention: “Liberty Lowboy,” Levi Casey, Mustang High School, Mustang, OK

Tables, first place: “Inverurie,” Andrew Prioli

Tables, second place: “Art Furniture,” Saarinen Balagengatharadilak, Fletcher’s Meadow Secondary School

Tables, honorable mention: “Indira,” Yush Chandat, Ontario High School

POST-SECONDARY:

Case Goods, second place: “Twins with a Secret,” Clay Roberts, Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, WI

Case Goods, honorable mention: “Cantilever,” Carol Jackson, University of Oregon, Eugene, and “Doug Fir,” Daniel Rickey, Rockingham Community College, Rockville, VA

Chairs, first place: “Cinnamon Roll,” Alen Mahic, University of Idaho, Boise

Chairs, honorable mention: “Flusso,” Meirav Shitrit, Art Center College of Design, New York, NY; “Mackintosh Comfort,” Kenneth Tuell, Haywood Community College, Asheville, NC, and “Andas,” James Van Den Heuvel, Art Center College of Design, Ontario, CA

Open, first place: “Sakura,” Leah Kenttamaa-Squires, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Open, honorable mention: “Decoration of Reclining,” Hongtao Zhou, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Production/Contract, first place: “Swell,” Rebekah Schaberg, University of Kentucky, Paducah

Production/Contract, honorable mention: “Floral Peek-A-Boo Tables,” Laura Davey, Brigham Young University, Nashua, NH

Reproduction, first place: “The Persistence of Time #1 and #2,” Jason Davis, University of Rio Grande, Bellevue, KY

Reproduction, second place: “Kurven,” Daniel Graupmann, Palomar College, Corona, CA

Tables, first place: “E Pluribus Unum,” Christopher Atwood, Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Rockport, ME

Tables, second place: “The Empire Desk,” David Ringheim, Selkirk College, Procter, BC, Canada

Tables, honorable mention: “Split Personality,” Jonathan Cox, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT