Sweep for Appalachian State

Doug Mockett & Co., a manufacturer of furniture components and architectural hardware, has announced the winners of its 36th annual Design Competition for innovative furniture parts, components, accessories and hardware. It’s a win-win for the company and participants, as it awards entrepreneurial designers with prize money and future royalties, while giving the company new products to add to its catalog.

There were two winners, Jake Gillespie and Sebastian Bartlett, both seniors at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.

“My design is a hook to be attached to the bottom of tables or desks,” said Gillespie. “There’s two parts – the first being the hook and the second being a screw on clamp that holds the hook in place and gives it the ability to slide out when you need to hang a backpack or headphones but can tuck away when not in use. I found my inspiration from the Clip Drawer Pull that Mockett sells; it has a unique function that I had never seen in a drawer pull. I took the design and tried to think of unique functions that a hook could have and different mechanisms that I had not seen before. By looking at the current market, I found that most of the current solutions for desk hooks were bulky and did not offer the functionality to be hidden. Through ideation I settled on the sliding mechanism for my final design.”

Bartlett won for a towel hook. “This unique design has an Art Deco look that we were instantly attracted to,” the company explains. “Simple yet elegant. Three sleek aluminum sheets bending out ever so slightly from a welded joint make this hook what it is - a stunning statement piece that combines beauty and function seamlessly.”

Bartlett is designing skis, made mostly from recycled materials, for his final school project.

The company is accepting entries for its next Design Competition. For details, visit mockett.com. 

This article was originally published in the March 2022 issue.