CREATIVE & INNOVATIVE
IFDA TRAILBLAZER AWARD
The IFDA Trailblazer Award is presented to a person who has been responsible for an innovation that meaningfully alters the way some aspect of the furnishings and design industry functions or is perceived.
Qualifications and Nomination Requirements:
Nominees may be a member or a non-member of IFDA. A Trailblazer is a person who in the last five years has consistently demonstrated leadership qualities and who will continue to affect the industry in blazing future trails.
TRAILBLAZER INFO
Please send completed nomination forms by July 15th to:
Linda Kulla
IFDA Executive Director
22 Marlin Lane
Port Washington, NY 11050
610-225-2365 (Direct Line)
linda@ifda.com
A Trailblazer is:
Creative and innovative
An influence on a national/international scale
A recognized leader in the profession
A contributor to the industry at large
For consideration the following material must accompany each nomination:
1) A statement summarizing what the candidate has done to merit consideration as a Trailblazer
2) An outlined business biography or resume listing professional background, business affiliations, honors and awards (with dates, if possible.)
3) Substantiating documentation
Chapters or individuals (members and non-members) may make nominations.
The IFDA Award Committee will evaluate nominations and select a candidate.
The Trailblazer Award is usually announced annually. 2011 IFDA President Janet Stevenson presented the 2011 Trailblazer Award to renowned product designer Joe Ruggiero at the Symposium Awards Dinner on Saturday, September 17, 2011. 2023 IFDA President Dawn Brinson and IFDA President Elect Larissa Cook announced the 2023 Trailblazer recipient, Patti Carpenter, at the New England Gala on September 29, 2023 in Boston.
Past Trailblazer Award Recipients
2023 Patti Carpenter
2011 Joe Ruggiero
2008 Barbara Beckmann
2007 Roberta Greene
2005 Grace McNamara
2004 Bob Timberlake
2003 Paolo Soleri
2002 Roulhac Toledano
2000 Michael Graves
1999 Agnes Bourne
1998 Philippe Starck
1996 Charles Gandy
1995 Raymond Waites
1994 Maya Romanoff
1992 John Feight
1991 Clement Conger
1990 Antonio Torrice
1989 Lester Dundes
1988 Jack Lenor Larsen
1987 Tramell Crow
1986 Denise Scott Brown
1985 Lavern Neil, FIFDA
1984 Ann Richardson
1983 Paige Rense
1982 Adriana Scalamandre Bitter
1981 Lisa Taylor
1980 Sara Little Turnbull
1979 Olga Gueft
1978 Vesta V’Soske
1977 Alice Alexander, FIFDA
1976 Marilyn Hoffman
1975 Ada Louise Huxtable
1974 Barbara D’Arcy
1973 Mary Kraft
1972 Vera Neuman
1971 Eudorah Moore
1970 Frances Taylor Heard
1969 Dorothy Wright Liebes
1968 Gladys Miller
1967 Elizabeth Paepcke
1966 Lady Bird Johnson
