Design students gain valuable experience

Friday, September 17, 2010

By Amy Wilson

Interior design students at Oklahoma State University recently left their creative mark on a new knitting store in Tulsa that left them with a terrific hands-on project to put in their job-hunting portfolios.

Their assignment started last year when Loops owner Shelley Brander visited their Design, Housing and Merchandising Studio II class to outline her hopes for expansion to a second location.  

The 30 students went to work in three separate teams to come up with unique design ideas under the guidance of visiting assistant professor and registered Oklahoma designer Rick Bartholomew.  

“Students had to think about not only the space layout but the overall display of the merchandise,” he said. “It was gratifying to see them foster their visualization for space and to be a part of that process.”

One of the students, interior design junior Andrea Depperschmidt (from hometown), said there were many factors to take into consideration.

“She (Brander) wanted a circular theme to flow. The first store was warm and cozy like a cottage, and she wanted this one to be more contemporary.”

Depperschmidt said they had to be conscience of space while creating a layout with a break room, kid’s playroom, conference room, registration area and a sitting area.

“It was difficult getting all the components together because it was a long and rectangular-shaped building, so we had to make it all flow without it being choppy.”

The goal was to give Loops’ new location an image that worked by offering the owner ideas from each team. Students were expected to create conceptual floor plan layouts, elevations and 3D sketch concepts along with color and material details.

Bartholomew said he knew the students were headed for success the way the client borrowed several ideas or solutions.

The grand opening of the new south Tulsa location was Aug. 6, and soon after Channel 6 News interviewed Bartholomew and Depperschmidt, along with another one of her group members, for a report that aired a few days later.

“I think it was a really nice experience for the students working with a real client and real space. Channel 6 offered some good exposure for the program and the university,” Bartholomew said.

However, Depperschmidt said the project did much more than attract recognition, it also gave students a learning experience like no other.

“It was amazing to watch your drawings start out with a couple of lines,” she said. “Then it develops into a whole room, and then you see it built and you’re like—I did that.”