Andrew Gower is an award-winning Industrial Designer known for creating thoughtful and distinctive designs. Drawing upon his extensive training and experience in the fields of architecture, interior design, industrial design and sculpture, Mr. Gower has created well researched design solutions that have been very successful products for his clients. His widely praised work has appeared in several prominent publications and he has received numerous awards for product design.

Mr. Gower started his professional career as a designer at the architectural firm DMSAS in Washington DC after graduating from the University of Colorado. In 1994, while continuing to practice architecture he opened and ran a limited production furniture company in Baltimore, MD to explore his own sense of design. These early years of working as an architectural designer and running a small furniture company were invaluable in gaining the knowledge to venture out professionally as an industrial designer.

Andrew received his academic training in Environmental Design and Fine Arts sculpture at the University of Colorado and the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC. His practical background of applied design ideas, combined with training in architecture, sculptor and furniture design, serve as the foundation of his unique integration of art and architectural forms in his work.

Currently Mr. Gower resides in Ashland, OR where he has been researching and implementing the most advanced technologies in modeling and rendering into his new company Zoose Design, LLC.

Joey Ruiter designs products inspired by the world around him, the people he meets, the needs he sees. His work draws on everything from global events to the natural world, ideas from the rhythm and flow of daily life. That's why his designs range from furniture and tools to vehicles, housewares, and other products that speak to how people work and play and live.

A particular focus is crossing disciplines to push his designs to new places. Combining sculpture, new materials and digital technology, for example. Or purposely blurring the lines between art, function and the user's expectations. Why settle for what's offered when you can enjoy something unexpected, something intriguing?

The founder and principal designer of JRuiter + Studio, his products range far and wide. Dorm room furniture that not only works for students, but creates a space they're delighted to live in. A chair that's elegant in appearance and manufactured to save material and energy. A bird feeder as appealing to homeowners as the birds, with a bird silhouette that's both practical and fun. Or the stainless steel bowl formed first by lasers and then by hand because, well, there's a story behind that design, just like all the others.

Dental tools. Boats. Vacuum cleaners. Office furniture. Even a franchise church (buildable anywhere there's a need and a bit of space). Meeting everyday needs in surprising ways is a hallmark of Ruiter's design. Using the process of design and pushing the limits of manufacturing to give people products they can enjoy personally.

Ruiter's full service design firm offers research, design and development, concept visualization, modeling, prototyping, custom fabrication, and manufacturing consultation.

A Kendall College of Art & Design graduate, Ruiter sold his first chair design to an office furniture leader while still a student. Two years later he won his first Best of NeoCon(r) Gold Award. Owner of more than two dozen design patents and winner of awards for design in a variety of industries. Featured in media ranging from Popular Science and Metropolis to "Geek-Week" on the Discovery Channel. Dedicated to design that's responsible in manufacture, sustains the environment, and delights the user.

Award winning designer Tim Murphy currently holds the position of Amana Design Studio Manager with the worlds leading manufacturer of major home appliances, Whirlpool Corporation. Whirlpool Corporation has annual sales of more than $19 billion, more than 73,000 employees, and more than 72 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. He leads a team of Industrial Designers and is consistently working with engineering, marketing and most importantly the consumer to deliver world class design.

As Studio Manager for Amana, Tim travels globally working with design and engineering teams in the United States, Asia, Europe and South America. He values user centric design along with robust project team collaborations on a global level.

Prior to pursuing a career in design, Tim was an awarded distinguished military graduate serving with the United States Navy. Post military, Tim pursued and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design from Kendall College of Artand Design. While attending college, Tim was the recipient of the IDSA Student Merit Award and winner of the KCAD Milan Furniture Fair Competition. These honors allowed Tim to showcase hisdesign on a global scale at the 2002 International Milan Furniture Fair, Salone Satellite, a section of the fair devoted to young, progressive designers.

Tim began his design career in West Michigan holding positions with several design and contract furniture companies. Along with Tim’s passion for furniture design he holds multiple design and utility patents across a number of industries including consumer products and electronics. In 2005 Tim was the winner of the OFS and Metropolis chair design competition with a design now known as the Symphony, presently manufactured by OFS.

Today’s manufacturing environment demands smart, responsible product and furniture design. Tim believes design can inherently be sustainable through the use of aesthetics, materials and function. Every project, large or small, is treated to challenge status quo of today’s manufacturing capabilities and practices to insure no stone is left unturned when seeking the “right way” to deliver design.

Don Laughter began his career in architecture in Houston, TX during the seventies. Don gravitated towards interiors, where design incorporated full services for clients, including custom furniture. He established his own product design firm after serving as Director of Product Design at Haworth.

Don was joined by his son in 2003, who had recently graduated with an Industrial Design Degree. The projects they work on are forever changing but their philosophy "To create high value, timeless products that are inherently easy to understand and use", will always stay the same.

John Stafford, graduate of Kendall School of Design (Grand Rapids, MI) in 1975, worked as Director of Design with Monarch Furniture Manufacturing, Division of Mohasco Corp. now known as Chromcraft/Revington. As Director of Design, responsibilities included creating the designs for the product line as well as developing all designs submitted by freelance designers. During his tenure he was heavily involved in manufacturing and product development engineering which prepared John for going into his own business in 1983. John Stafford Designs has since been a very successful design business and is responsible for designing many of the top selling products still being sold today in the contract furniture market.

Chris Carter graduated from Pratt Institute (New York) in 1991. He worked with various design firms in the metropolitan New York area, designing and working on products for clients including Steelcase, Century baby products, Tyco toys, Colgate Palmolive and Ford Motor Company. Deciding to concentrate in furniture design, he took the position as Design Director for Loewenstein. While there, he was responsible for numerous designs and programs for various high profile installations throughout North America.

In 2002, Chris and John joined forces to form John Stafford/Chris Carter Design, LLC. Since the formation of the new partnership, concentration has been focused in all categories of the contract market. They are a full service design team that offers skills from concept drawings to 3D solids modeling as well as provides valuable input regarding strategic product planning, costing and sourcing. They have spent much time traveling internationally to work with world leading suppliers on the production of their designs to satisfy the challenging costs that are demanded in today’s market. Since partnering, John Stafford/Chris Carter Design, LLC has acquired a world wide client base from which their designs are sold in corporate, healthcare, college/university, retail store planning and hospitality markets.

Zooey Chu is one of North America’s most exciting and celebrated chair designers. Zooey is President and Principle of Synergy Product Development in Grand Rapids, MI. Zooey has been designing award winning chairs for more than 25 years. These chairs include the Teknion – Amicus, Haworth – Zooey Chu Stacker, Harter - Intuition, Fixtures Furniture - Rascal, Steelcase - Sensor and Criterion, Teknion – Savera Chair, Samas – Universal Chair, Global – Azeo Chair, Supra Chair, Accord Chair, Shadow Chair and Karizma Chair.

Zooey earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Brigham Young University and an Associates Degree from the National Taiwan Academy of Art in Taipei, China. He began his industrial design career creating the look and feel of automobiles, first as a designer of automotive interiors at General Motors, then as chief designer at Volkswagen of America and finally as director of design for Prince Corporation (Johnson Controls) in Holland, MI.

Zooey brought his inspirational spark to the office environment in 1984 when he joined Steelcase as a senior designer. While at Steelcase, Zooey designed the Sensor and Criterion office chairs.

Zooey continues to develop new and exciting office furniture products today for many companies in the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan and Europe.