NEW YORK -- A new custom furniture competition series has been launched by comedian and daytime TV host Ellen DeGeneres on HGTV, Ellen’s Design Challenge, produced by A Very Good Production and A. Smith & Co. in association with Telepictures.

“Ellen is a huge lover of furniture, so when she pitched this concept we jumped at the opportunity’” said Loren Ruch, show producer.

The six-episode series, which premiered January 26, features six contestants taking on creative challenges to sketch, design and build furniture in order to avoid being eliminated from the competition. The final remaining competitor receives a $100,000 cash prize courtesy of Wayfair.com and has their work featured in HGTV Magazine.

Each competitor has access to a build team and workshop stocked with necessary tools, as well as the opportunity to team with an experienced carpenter to complete each challenge, including:

• Karl Champley, an Australian native and award winning Master Builder and environmental home inspector, as well as a veteran of DIY Network home improvement shows "DIY To The Rescue" and "Wasted Spaces.”
• Jeff Devlin, a Pennsylvania-based professional carpenter with more than 15 years of experience, and former host and resident carpenter of the HGTV series “Spice Up My Kitchen.”
• Matt Muenster, a licensed contractor from Minneapolis, MN, expert in high-end interior design, and participant in two DIY Network series, “Bath Crashers” and “BATHtastic!”
• David Sheinkopf of Shein Design Inc. in Los Angeles, CA, and part of the design team on the HGTV decorating series “Design on a Dime.”
• Brooks Utley, a Salt Lake City, UT, native and Los Angeles, CA, resident from HGTV’s “$250,000 Challenge,” with a background in custom landscaping, construction and Eco building methods.
• Chip Wade, an Atlanta, GA, native and owner and lead designer of Wade Works LLC, a design, staging, inspection, and custom construction firm, and participant in a host of design and construction shows, most recently HGTV’s “Elbow Room.”

The show is hosted by TV personality Jay Montepare, and features Amanda Dameron, editor-in-chief of Dwell, and Christiane Lemieux, executive creative director of Wayfair.com, as judges. The six competitors are Jose Gaspar de Jesus of Los Angeles, CA; Katie Stout of Brooklyn, NY; Tim McClellan of Durango, CO; Carley Eisenberg of Asheville, NC; Mark Moskovitz of Yarmouth, ME; and Leslie Shapiro Joyal of Los Angeles, CA. 

More information on the series, including video and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, can be accessed at HGTV.com/Ellen.