Wildrose Hamilton Winner of Project OR’s People’s Choice Award

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – August 3, 2009 – Outdoor Retailer (OR) attendees selected Project OR runner up and Colorado State University design student Wildrose Hamilton for the 2009 Summer Market Project OR People’s Choice Award during the 2009 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, July 21-24. Lindsey Schuyler of Florida State University won the judges’ vote and overall competition.

Hamilton’s design, selected by OR attendees from five student designs, is a reversible jacket with an asymmetrical zipper that uses floral graphics and a first-aid sleeve pocket adorned with a skull-and-Band-Aid logo to tell the “risk and reward” story of outdoor adventure. Hamilton used Schoeller fabric and 3M reflective logo material to execute her design.

Summer Market competitors had 48 hours to design and create a working prototype of a women’s lightweight insulated wind shirt. The competitors’ garments were required to work as a layering piece, appeal to an 18 to 35-year-old woman, show an emphasis on ventilation and moisture transport, and incorporate reusable/recyclable components.

For more information about Project OR, the competitors’ bios, or to view episodes of the reality-competition style series, please visit the Project OR Web page.

About Project OR
Project OR, produced and recorded live at the Outdoor Retailer trade show, is a 48-hour concept-to-prototype student design competition meant to inspire innovative outdoor concepts.

Filmed in a reality-competition type format, Project OR begins with an initial Design Brief that challenges the students to create a garment that is original, an innovative use of performance and eco-friendly materials and has a practical application for the outdoor market.

Once initial garment designs are complete, contestants turn their drawings into product using the latest fabrics, zippers and other clothing components provided by participating Outdoor Retailer supplier exhibitors. With sourcing complete, contestants spend the remainder of the 48-hour deadline at their work station (equipped with sewing machines, cutting tables, pressing equipment and tools) building their final prototypes.

Project OR’s panel of judges, comprised of Outdoor Retailer-selected designers and industry trend-setters, review each contestant’s final prototype and presentation on the last day of the show, July 24, to determine a winner. The winning student receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Outdoor Retailer Winter Market ’10 and a profile in Textile Insight.

Show attendees are encouraged to follow the students’ progress in designated areas throughout the show and via streaming video on the OR website. Attendees can submit their vote, via a ballot box by the contestant work stations, for the Project OR People’s Choice Award.

About Outdoor Retailer
Outdoor Retailer (OR), produced by Nielsen Business Media of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., is a full service trade show company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. OR is the leading outdoor industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation. Now celebrating more than 25 years of successful events, Outdoor Retailer (www.outdoorretailer.com) gathers approximately 40,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Winter and Summer Market shows.

The next opportunity to preview the future of the outdoor industry will start at the All Mountain Demo in Odgen, Utah on January 20, 2010, followed by the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market at the Salt Palace Convention Center from January 21-24, 2010 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Maura Lansford, SOAR Communications, 801-523-3730, mlansford@soarcomm.com or
Chip Smith, SOAR Communications, 801-523-3730, csmith@soarcomm.com