Strengthening The Industry Through Community

V2K Window Fashions Provides Scholarships for Tomorrow's Designers

(Thursday, August 01, 2002) - For twenty years, David Hoskins was the proprietor of a grocery store that was continually being bought out by larger companies. When the latest major grocery chain took over, Hoskins felt he could no longer direct his business the way he wanted. He made a dramatic career turn and arrived in the window-fashions industry as owner of V2K Window Fashions—also known as "The Virtual Window Fashion Store."

The business change had a rejuvenating effect on Hoskins. "I've always been a creative person. That side of me sat dormant for years and now has brought me back to life. I'm enjoying the creative part of the design process. " In an effort to present this experience to people at a younger age, Hoskins created the V2K Student Design Contest—an original scholarship for graduating high-school seniors with an interest in pursuing interior design.

The V2K Scholarship was a part of Hoskins' original business plan for V2K Window Fashions, with the goal of obtaining public recognition. "I came from a completely different industry and wanted to get involved in the window-fashions industry in a way that created a higher level of interest in my community," says Hoskins. The school district surrounding V2K Window Fashions consists of five high schools with large industrial-arts programs, including classes in interior design. As Hoskins spoke to educators in the district, he found that there were no scholarships available to students interested in industrial careers. "We didn't want to wait another year to get started [with the scholarship]; we just wanted to do it," says Hoskins. After receiving enthusiastic support from local teachers, and having been in business for only two months, V2K Window Fashions set the 2002 Student Design Contest into action.

Hoskins offered the $1,000 scholarship—whose purpose is to "advance interest and stimulate excitement in the important field of window-fashion design"—to more than 3,000 eligible high-school seniors from the Lewisville Independent School District of Carrollton, TX. Hoskins promoted both the scholarship and the window-fashions industry to the district by speaking directly with teachers and students. Hoskins also delivered hands-on experience to the classroom, by granting students the opportunity to experiment with the company's own computer software program. The program allows the user to view and alter hundreds of fashions for a window on a computer. Then it imports fabrics and totals the exact cost of the treatment. "The kids loved that. They really liked using the computer and being able to see how the window treatment would look," says Hoskins.

V2K Window Fashions Student Design Contest provoked students' interest for interior design, as well as the interest of their parents and other consumers in the community. The contest required students to send in original window-treatment designs, accompanied by a detailed essay, all based on the student's own research. "In our part of Texas, white blinds are pretty much the standard thing," says Hoskins. "I want to have a higher awareness of what is out there and potentially create future customers for us. One of the benefits of this program is that kids get their parents involved. The parent can see the interest that their child is having in the design process and it may have the parent thinking a little more about their own window treatments." Through this process, prospective consumers learned the aesthetic significance of window treatments and that V2K Window Fashions is where to turn to accentuate their windows.

V2K Window Fashions and the Student Design Contest also reached the attention of professional interior designers, who were cast as judges for the scholarship competition. This enabled the students to achieve a degree of professionalism and allowed V2K Window Fashions to establish contacts with designers. "Working with designers is a natural fit for us," says Hoskins who also says the contest "lets the designer know about the services that we offer from our business, especially the computer program." As the scholarship program expands, Hoskins expects interest in the program and his company will expand. "I think that as this contest grows, it will become an honor for the judge, and may even attract a celebrity judge in the future," says Hoskins.


Hyoun (Sunny) Seon Yoo's winning design - "The bamboo style with green colors gives the room a cool and natural feeling like being surrounded by a forest," says Yoo. "The calming effects of the natural setting will help alleviate stress and lend a simple, organized sensation to the hectic teen's lifestyle."
The winning entry for the first annual V2K Student Design Contest was submitted by Hyoun (Sunny) Seon Yoo of Hebron High School. Yoo conducted extensive research on interior design—including reading books and Internet articles on window fashions—in order to complete her window-fashion design. Sunny also took various art, computer-aided design, and interior-design courses in high school to further her knowledge of the subject. Yoo will apply the $1,000 scholarship to Collin Community college, where she will attend school in the fall to pursue her interests in fashion and interior design.

The V2K scholarship will allow Yoo to attend college, a prospect that was inconceivable based on her funds alone. Many students entering industrial-arts programs in college do not receive equal financial assistance as those entering standard academic programs. The majority of scholarships granted to students are based largely on academic performance and have little to do with the artistic drive. This may harm students who pursue industrial careers and in turn, the industries themselves. "We wanted to make sure they had an interest in their school work and were responsible students, but we didn't put a high priority on it. We wanted to give them an opportunity for a scholarship that they might not normally have," says Hoskins.

Scholarship programs such as V2K's Student Design Contest, strengthen the window-fashions industry through providing creative freedom to high-school students, monetary support to future designers, and product knowledge to the general public. "We reached into a lot of places to talk about window fashions that may not have ever been reached," says Hoskins. This type of widespread awareness furthers the success of independent designers and companies within the window-fashions industry.

The 2003 V2K Window Fashions Student Design Contest will be expanded to include five scholarships. This year's contest was sponsored by one company, First Security Bank. More companies have already committed themselves as sponsors for next year's scholarship. "I think we will get a lot more media attention as this grows and we will be able to do an awful lot to help this industry in the future," says Hoskins. "It just helps to generate a future for us all."

For information on entering or sponsoring the 2003 V2K Window Fashions Student Design Contest, contact 972/355-5556 or DavidHoskins@v2kwindowfashions.com.

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