“Creating something and understanding that people are going to use it every day, and that it’s going to make their lives better, that is one of my favorite things.” – Eliseo Carmona, Jr. ’11 (Industrial Design)
Carmona embarked on a project to improve students’ lives with Interior Architecture and Design alumni Brad Ritter ’11 and Ben Husnick ’10 when Ritter received a request to design and build desks for an emerging art classroom at the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (WPCA).
Mary Sugiyama, Assistant Director of Education and Art Educator at WPCA, was thrilled to work with the MIAD alums. “At WPCA, we pride ourselves on supporting local businesses and artists as much as possible. I talked to [Ritter] to see if he knew additional artists, and BAM, we had a group ready and willing to build our desks.”
“We were trying to give them, for a more reasonable price, something that’s a little more handmade and handcrafted, yet still functional and able to meet the needs of the students,” said Carmona.
The trio was up to the challenge of melding their individual design styles, getting, as Carmona puts it, “the best of everybody’s world and everybody’s experience, blending our best attributes and putting them together to get the best product for the center.”
Carmona brought his experience as an exhibit designer at Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and a passion for teachers and children that he also exhibited in his senior capstone project – a mobile desk designed to enhance the experience of both teacher and student. His attention to the needs of clients will be an asset at his new position as a model maker for DCI Marketing.
Husnick contributed his knowledge of building techniques from his custom cabinet work at Mark Porreca, LLC, and Ritter added his assembly and fine furnishing background from MIAD and commissioned work into the mix.
The result? Five durable desks with ample storage space for the center, and an added design element of versatility. The desks can be tucked away for fundraisers and events, and are the perfect height for both children and adults.
The desks were put into use immediately after delivery, giving Carmona the chance to experience his favorite part of design.
Ritter chimed in that the desks also me his criteria for fantastic design, “I just love it when everything comes together perfectly. It gives you a really good feeling when it’s done and it’s exactly the way you planned it.”
Click here to read more about MIAD’s Interior Architecture and Design program.
Click here to read more about MIAD’s Industrial Design program.
Top image: Carmona, Husnick and Ritter
Second image: Children using the desks
Third image: Close-up of a desk in use
