Interior Design Hosts Showcase and Sets Sights on Paris

The Clover Park Technical College Interior Design program hosted its Winter Student Portfolio Exhibition Friday, showcasing the work of 15 students in the McGavick Conference Center.

The event ran from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and served as the program’s equivalent of a capstone exhibition as each student showed off the work they’ve put together during their six quarters in the program.

“It’s a portfolio class, the culmination of all the work they’ve done throughout the program and a chance to display any other boards and things they’ve done over the last year-and-a-half,” CPTC instructor Julie Watts said.

Title “Design Is…” the event offered a glimpse into the variety of work compiled by CPTC interior design students. Fellow students, staff members, community members and local employers all visited and worked their way through the various tables of work. The event has previously helped serve as a springboard to students securing employment.

“On a couple occasions, we’ve had people that have been hired on the spot at these events,” Watts said. “That’s rare, but much more commonly we’ve had people secure interviews through this event and then were hired.”

The program hosts showcase events twice per year, at the conclusion of summer and winter quarters. A new piece of Friday’s event was information and a fundraising table about an upcoming program trip to France. The trip is scheduled for September and will be the first of its kind for the program.

In a partnership with Academic Programs International, a group of interior design students and instructors will travel to France for a customized 30-hour course “Historical Architecture and Design” led by a professor from the Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP) featuring both coursework and on-site visits. The group of students set to travel includes some of the sixth-quarter students from Friday’s showcase, as well as various second- and fourth-quarter students.

“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to make this a regular trip for our students,” Watts said. “There’s been a really big interest from the students.”

For more information about the trip to Paris, contact CPTC Interior Design instructor Michael Bowman at michael.bowman@cptc.edu.