2 minute read
Fueling great growth
Thanks to several forms of support, Oregon native Hannah Bartlett is taking advantage of incredible opportunities at RISD.
While in high school, Hannah Bartlett 19 FD had considered a career in product design or engineering, but once she read an article about Industrial Design and RISD, plans changed. “I wanted to make things and be in a place where people are invested in creativity and exploration.” So once RISD not only accepted her, but also offered her scholarship support, she was thrilled.
“Aside from allowing me to come to RISD in the first place,” says the senior in Furniture Design, “the scholarships I receive have made it possible for me to live on campus and stay fully immersed in campus culture.”
Now that she lives two blocks away from the Furniture Design studios, Bartlett couldn’t be happier. “I’m close to the facilities I need and the people with whom I love to work,” she says. She’s also grateful to have received an Alfreda Ward Maloof Memorial Scholarship from the Furniture Design department. Established by renowned furniture designer Sam Maloof in memory of his wife (and a fellow artist), the award has provided vital support during her junior and senior years.
When Bartlett started working with wood during her sophomore year, she fell in love. “I did a lot of physics and bridge-building in high school, and I think that the appeal of lightweight structures affected the way I designed for most of sophomore year,” she says. “I tried to make each project from one plank of wood—both to save money and to challenge my hand at designing structures and joinery.”
After learning about the Materials Fund, Bartlett thought it was too good to be true. “There were projects I had abandoned because of the cost of equipment or materials,” she concedes. But thanks to this funding, she was able to experiment with large sheets of veneer while exploring a new method of mold-making.
Last year when Bartlett submitted one of her projects to the Rhode Island Fine Furnishings Show, she won the Best in Show award. “The support from the Materials Fund along with my RISD scholarship and the attention I received from the local furniture community have all come together to make me feel like I have really found my place at RISD and in the world.”
In addition, Bartlett was especially pleased to receive Travel Fund support to attend a three-week RISD course on Danish design in Copenhagen. “By seeing so much Danish design and speaking with contemporary designers and manufacturers, we learned a lot about the realities of sustainable design and production,” Bartlett notes, adding: “It was refreshing to take a break from making and spend time listening.” A bequest of $195,000 from the estate of Dolores McKenna (her spouse Robert McKenna 53 IL predeceased her) has boosted the fund, meaning RISD can now offer more grants to students pursuing creative and academic opportunities abroad and elsewhere in the US.
Bartlett’s experience in Denmark has sparked an interest in interior design and interior architecture that may eventually lead to grad school. In the meantime, she plans to return to Oregon after graduation, where she hopes to work in a custom furniture shop, collaborate with other craftspeople and find her place in the community of furniture makers in Portland.
