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Ellis Furniture holds design competition in conjunction with William Wilson

Popular manufacturer and designer Ellis Furniture recently teamed up with long-standing customer and one of Scotland's largest suppliers of plumbing & heating products, William Wilson, to run a bathroom design competition using Virtual Worlds design software.

Staff from all 19 William Wilson branches took part with more than 50 design entries submitted anonymously to the judging panel. The judging panel included Ellis Furniture directors Richard Ellis and Tom Ellis, Ellis retail sales manager for Scotland Holly Barnes, Ellis sales and marketing director Peter Elson - and from William Wilson commercial director Michael Wilson, David Wilson an in-house designer for Ellis Furniture, plus Lorraine Bend and David Spark.

First prize of an iPad went to Sara Urquhart from the Inverness showroom. Sara's design stood out to the judges, who were unanimous in their decision, as a fully fitted solution using all accessories and finishing touches. Sara's presentation and different visuals also delivered a clear vision from different angles in the bathroom and her design really stood out as a fresh and new.

The second prize of £150.00 in vouchers went to Dale Hendry from the Dundee showroom. The judges complimented Dale on his skill in showing the lighting and the combed ceiling in his successful design. Dale also took the time to render his designs. Rendering is a process which takes a basic visual and moves it towards photographic quality. Good rendering can vastly improve the quality of a visual representation.

The third prize of £75.00 in vouchers went to Danny O'Gara from the Edinburgh showroom. Danny demonstrated considerable skill in his entries but particularly in accessorising with lighting. Danny's use of cut outs, correctly placing a basin in that cut out and then even showing water in the basin showed tremendous attention to detail, which was commended by the judges.

"We ran the design competition in a bid to familiarise the William Wilson team with Virtual Worlds software, which was installed in William Wilson branches last year," explains Richard Fitzmaurice, marketing manager of Ellis Furniture. "Each design had to carry a minimum order value of £500. All entries were submitted anonymously. The competition was a huge success, as demonstrated by the very high number of design entries we received and the high standard of designs submitted."

Michael Wilson, commercial director at William Wilson, adds: "The competition has really helped get the team up to speed with Virtual Worlds and has really whetted the appetite for creative bathroom design. We were delighted with the volume and quality of the entries. It was a tough competition to judge."

Richard concludes: "The free design service offered by William Wilson really helps set the company apart from its competitors. At Ellis we were keen to help William Wilson really embed the use of Virtual Worlds across all its bathroom showrooms. The quality of the designs generated by the CAD software is often a key element in securing a successful sale and we're delighted that this competition was such a success and that the staff have fully embraced this technology."

Image: The winning design by Sara Urquhart using Ellis Furniture Ikon Gloss Graphite

T: 01484 514 212
W: www.ellisfurniture.co.uk

26th April 2013