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Kikkerland and The Container Store Launch Home Design Challenge

09/16/2015

Rhode Island School of Design Students Vie for a Chance to See Winning Product Go to Retail

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kikkerland Design is proud to announce its partnership with The Container Store® and the Industrial Design Program at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). The two companies are inviting industrial design students to re-think the organized home.

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For its eighth design challenge, Kikkerland Design invited the students to design an innovative product within three core categories:

  • The Connected Home: Respond to the impact of technology on all aspects of home living and cord management.
  • Healthy food: Offer answers to food prep/cabinet storage/meals-on-the-go based on current health trends.
  • The “Celebrity” Effect: Create a storage and organization solution for the increased use of make-up, more jewelry and nail polish, creating a need for customized storage and organization.

The goal is to give design students a platform to present their product ideas for a well-respected retailer and the chance to see their ideas produced. The product submissions need to appeal to The Container Store’s consumer and include Kikkerland’s signature fun and functional characteristics.

Assistant Design Professor Matthew Bird at RISD will be guiding students and reviewing all products throughout the fall semester. Final products will be hosted online at http://www.risddesignchallenge.com for a public vote November 13th - 15th. Customers can vote for their favorite designs to determine the People’s Choice Winner. The prototypes will then be sent to Kikkerland and The Container Store where a jury of buyers, merchandisers and industrial design professionals will determine the pieces selected for production. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on December 4, 2015.

Winners in the two categories below will be announced at the awards ceremony:

  • Academic Winner(s): The selected student(s) will receive an academic achievement award and will be invited to Design Week.
  • People's Choice Winner: This is the selected product that received the most votes online. The winning designer will receive an award certificate and will be given additional consideration for Kikkerland production. The final winning designer will receive a royalty agreement with Kikkerland Design.

For more than 15 years, Kikkerland Design and The Container Store have had a long-standing partnership and are committed to bringing innovative design solutions to consumers.

“We are honored to partner with Kikkerland for their annual design challenge. At The Container Store, we’ve always believed that storage and organization don’t have to be boring and that functional items can actually be fun. Kikkerland has always been a trusted vendor we look to for inspired designs that turn the everyday into exciting, make-you-smile solutions. We’re eager to see what these bright and talented RISD students will dream up in the way of home organization,” said Sharon Tindell, Chief Merchandising Officer of The Container Store.

About The Container Store:

The Container Store (NYSE: TCS) is the nation’s leading retailer of storage and organization products and the only retailer solely devoted to the category. The company originated the concept of storage and organization of retailing when it opened its first store in 1978. Today, the retailer has 74 store locations nationwide that each average 25,000 square feet. The Container Store has over 10,000 products – many of them multifunctional – to help customers save space and, ultimately, save them time. As the pace of modern life accelerates, being organized is not a luxury but a necessity, The Container Store is devoted to making customers more productive, relaxed and happier by selling customized organization solutions such as custom closets using its new TCS Closets collection and its elfa shelving and drawer system. Since its inception, the retailer has nurtured an employee-first culture and couples its one-of-a-kind product collection with a high level of customer service delivered by its highly trained organization experts. The Company has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies To Work For® 16 years in a row. Visit www.containerstore.com for more information about store locations, the product collection, services offered - including the retailer’s new, personalized in-home organization service Contained Home – and to sign up for the POP! Perfectly Organized Perks program. Discover The Container Store’s storage and organization solutions at work in real spaces of its customers’ and employees’ homes along with tips, advice and product sneak peeks at the retailer’s new lifestyle blog, Container Stories (containerstore.com/blog). To find out more about The Container Store’s unique culture, Foundation Principles and devotion to Conscious Capitalism, visit the retailer’s culture blog at www.whatwestandfor.com or read Chairman & CEO Kip Tindell’s book UNCONTAINABLE: How Passion, Commitment, and Conscious Capitalism Built a Business Where Everyone Thrives (available at The Container Store, www.uncontainable.com and anywhere books are sold).

About Kikkerland Design:

Kikkerland Design (kikkerland.com) was founded by Dutchman Jan van der Lande, who launched the label in 1992 from a houseboat anchored in the Hudson River, delivering orders by bicycle for the first few years. Looking for well-designed products laced with humor, a poetic twist and a clever distortion of everyday language, van der Lande has represented young, self-producing designers since 1987. He launched the company with the works of emerging designers who would rapidly make big names for themselves in the industry, among them Hella Jongerius and Richard Hutten. Early successes include the Young Giant picture frame by Jongerius, Richard Hutten’s No Sign of Design furniture, Rob Dashorst’s V vase, Bowl B/V by Vincent de Rijk and the Wander stool by Ruud Jan Kokke (now part of the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art New York). The character of Kikkerland was such that the first printed catalog featured an arts section, in addition to design.

Today, Kikkerland adds 150 new items to its catalog every six months—averaging out to a remarkable one product per day. The wide-ranging collection offers everything from kitchen and bar products, stationery and tech accessories to games, tools and tabletop items for living space and the bath. These objects are witty, aiming to engage and inspire the curious viewer while embracing innovative technologies and wide-ranging materials.

About RISD

Founded in 1877, Rhode Island School of Design (or “RIZ-dee” for the acronym RISD) is one of the oldest and best-known colleges of art and design in the U.S. Each year approximately 2,300 students from around the world pursue a creative, studio-based education at RISD, which offers rigorous bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in 19 architecture, design, fine arts and art education majors. The college is located in Providence, Rhode Island, which offers its own vibrant art scene and is conveniently located between two other major cultural centers: Boston and New York.

Drawing on its historic contribution to responsible, human-centered design, RISD’s Industrial Design program teaches students to use critical thinking and the design process itself to bring new value to companies, communities and citizens. Professors with expertise in a wide range of areas guide students in researching user experiences to create well-conceived and executed objects, products and systems that make everyday tasks easier.

Matthew Bird, Assistant Professor in RISD’s Industrial Design program will be leading the design challenge with the junior students at RISD. Matthew has 25 years experience in the art, gift, and design industry where he participated in all roles in the industry, from design and manufacturing to retail. He is a design historian, and frequent guest critic and lecturer at various schools and universities, as well as an independent curator for design-related museum exhibits. Matthew is an experienced trade show buyer and exhibitor, and a designer who understands the market place for industrial/product design.

Source: The Container Store

The Container Store

Casey Shilling, 972-538-6621

publicrelations@containerstore.com

or

for Kikkerland Design

Nora Wolf, 646-232-3832

nora@wolf-pr.com