June 2011 – Goodweave announce the winners of the 2011 Goodweave Student Rug Design Competition with special guest judges Celia Birtwell, Barbara Chandler and Lucy Upward.

Tracy Bidwell, a final year student studying Textiles and Surface Design at Cleveland College of Art and Design has been announced as the winner of the 2011 GoodWeave Student Rug Design Competition sponsored by Jacaranda Carpets and WovenGround.com.

Developed to encourage young designers to learn about the commercial world of rug design and ethical manufacturing, the 2011 Student Rug Design Competition was entered by post and undergraduate design students from across the UK who submitted designs for a hand-knotted silk or wool rug. As GoodWeave is an international organisation that seeks to end exploitative child labour in the rug industry of South Asia and fund education and rehabilitation for thousands of rescued children, the competition was set up to educate students about the rug manufacturing process.

The winner alongside second finalist Eve Finlayson from Leeds College of Art and four additional shortlisted entries were selected by an independent panel made up of: British designer Celia Birtwell, design journalist Barbara Chandler, Lucy Upward from Cover Magazine, Richard and Lucy Meager from Jacaranda Carpets and Paul Vowles from WovenGround.

Each design showed a high standard of creativity with mood boards and hand drawn images submitted to support each entry. This dedication to detail revealed how the brief was interpreted from concept to completion. The 2011 design brief - 'Natural Origins' – encouraged the students to take inspiration from natural forms, structures and textures and draw upon a colour palette of tones such as Peacock Blue and Burnt Orange.

Just finishing ahead of Eve Finlayson's bee inspired design; Tracy Bidwell's winning concept was influenced by the structure of nature and the colours and styles of the 1950's, in particular the Festival of Britain. The bold composition will be professionally produced by Jacaranda Carpets and showcased at Decorex, an international exhibition for interior designers which is held during September as part of the London Design Festival.

Tracy Bidwell comments: "Winning this competition is a fantastic finish to my textiles degree and hopefully the beginning of a new and exciting career in surface design. It will be amazing to see all my hardwork bought to fruition and produced into a rug that will be exhibited at the prestigious Decorex exhibition. The competition has also been an invaluable experience, learning about all the work GoodWeave does to stop child labour in the rug industry."

Samantha Towle, Executive Director of GoodWeave UK, comments: "We were so fortunate to have an informed panel of external judges, and we were all delighted with the high number of outstanding entries received. I hope the competition encourages more textile and design courses to inform their students about some of the ethical choices facing a Designer – particularly how they can make a real difference and prevent the horrific exploitation of children in the rug industry."

Celia Birtwell remarks: "I am honoured to have been asked to judge such a caring competition that aims to make a difference. The winning design is simple yet fun with the whole concept strong from the beginning inspiration stage to the finished design. Tracy's design is a perfect rug to be showcased at Decorex."

To view the shortlisted student designs please visit www.goodweave.org.uk.

Jacaranda Carpets Tel 01858 464 144 www.jacarandacarpets.co.uk / WovenGround Tel 020 7731 1849 www.wovenground.com.

Press Enquiries: Jacaranda: e: tanya.johnson@hillgatepr.co.uk t: 020 7384 2476 / WovenGround.com e: eva@sheilafitzjonespr.com t: 020 7586 9749 / GoodWeave: e: fay@dixonhandleymarketing.co.uk t: 01926 885511

ENDS.