UK’s Leading Department Store Stocks Student’s Competition Winning Design

Alphason, the leading UK producers of specialist television and home cinema furniture, is please to announce that it has made a dream come true for the winner of its design competition, student Paul Humphreys.

Alphason is a brand of Armour Home. Its category manager, James McCumesky, explained:

“Paul, a 21-year-old design student at the University of Salford, took part in a special project, run by Alphason Designs, to support and promote young local design talent. This nurturing process, undertaken in conjunction with the schools of design at two UK universities; Staffordshire University and the University of Salford, developed into a competition to find the best new designs for TV and/or home cinema furniture.”

The three top entries each won their creators an eight week work placement at Alphason’s state of the art production facility near Manchester, England.

One of those students was Paul who during his placement designed an AV stand called ‘Pebble’.

Alphason were so impressed with Pebble that they presented it to the John Lewis Partnership, who is now selling it in its stores. Including the Salford branch, less than a ‘pebble’s’ throw from the university where Paul is studying.

Commenting on the scheme, Alphason’s commercial director Paul McCarthy said:

“Alphason is particularly proud of its "Designed in Britain" label and so it is delighted to foster and develop the skills of some of the country's young designers in this way. We were also exceptionally pleased with the high standard of the entries submitted, which made the judging very difficult. But Paul was a clear winner with his Pebble stand.”

Mr McCarthy continued: “The rationale behind the project was to provide design students with ‘real’ projects which, if deemed suitable, would ultimately find their way into production. Another objective was to provide valuable work placement situations in a generally difficult economic climate.”

And a last word from the winner himself: “I am absolutely over the moon!” said Paul Humphreys; “It has been extremely valuable to me to experience a real work environment, seeing how everything fits together in real life, rather than in a university set up. Having the product chosen by John Lewis is simply the icing on the cake.”