New York, NY June 29, 2007 – The top three winners were announced last evening at The Odegard Award for Excellence in Rug Design Awards Ceremony. Industry luminaries Dr. Barbara Bloemink, Sherri Donghia, Matilda McQuaid, Jack Lenor Larsen, and Stephanie Odegard juried over 930 student submissions and were on hand to present the awards. The competition was created to show student designers how combining modern designs with traditional hand knotting techniques can increase awareness and respect for the legacy of textile and carpet weaving.

The Jurors were asked to vote for entries which they thought deserved top honors, and – separately - for their favored entries. Below are the honorees of the 2007 Odegard Awards. All 17 of them struck a particular chord in the Jury’s mind. All of them will be part of the traveling exhibit which Odegard is organizing to further share with others the benefit of this incredible creative talent. Check back on this website for further news and scheduling info.

 


 
  • All 930 students who went to great lengths to participate in this competition and sent in their submis-
    sions by the March 17, 2007 deadline; and who displayed such a dazzling array of talent that the Jury
    had to reconvene several times to make its difficult final choices;

  • All faculty members who understood the primary goal of this competition, which is to help students
    prepare for their professional life in creative design, and who incorporated the competition guidelines
    in their curriculum;

  • The five jurors, who are each authorities in their respective fields, and who graciously took innumerable
    hours to view, evaluate and rate each and every submission: Barbara Bloemink, Sherri Donghia, Jack
    Lenor Larsen    , Matilda McQuaid and Stephanie Odegard;

  • Stephanie Odegard, founder and President of Odegard Inc., for her far reaching vision to encourage
    young talent to perpetuate the legacy of excellence in design;

  • Inge Heckel and Tom Romich of the New York School of Interior Design for their generous hospitality
    for our Awards Ceremony;

  • Joel R. Podgor and Anthony Bracco of the Accounting firm Holtz Rubenstein Reminick LLP, CPA, for
    assistance in tallying the jurors' votes;

  • Arthur R. Lehman, L.L.C., for legal counsel;

  • Jim Druckman and the New York Design Center for their always enthusiastic support;

  • Theres Wegmann for her invaluable Website help;

  • and - of course - the many people at Odegard Inc. who worked relentlessly to make this competition a
    success.