Sustainable carpet designer to deliver Grisham-Trentham Lecture at Auburn University

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Freelance designer David Oakey will be the keynote speaker for the 28th annual Grisham-Trentham Lecture Series at Auburn University on Wednesday, Jan. 28. The public lecture is at 10 a.m. in the auditorium at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

Oakey, founder of David Oakey Designs in LaGrange, Georgia, has been the exclusive product designer for sustainable carpet companies, Interface and FLOR, since 1994. He is a strong advocate for the nature-based design principles of biomimicry, which is to design for the life cycle of the product, not just its creation and use.

Educated in carpet design at Kidderminster College in England, Oakey pursued his entrepreneurial dream establishing David Oakey Designs in 1985.

When Ray Anderson, the late founder of Interface, declared his company would be sustainable by 2020, Oakey and his team recognized sustainable design must be innovative utilizing efficient use of materials, seeking smart products and eliminating waste during the process.

Oakey and his team have earned significant recognition for design excellence receiving awards in contract carpets and fabrics from the International Interior Design Association, American Society of Interior Designers and the American Institute of Architects as the client with Pond Studios in LaGrange, Georgia.

Oakey and his philosophies have been featured in Business Week, Fast Company, Interior Design Magazine, New York Times Science, Green Futures Magazine, I.D. Magazine and The Smithsonian Magazine.

The Grisham-Trentham Lecture Series was started at Auburn University in 1987 by Professor Gary Trentham as a way of bringing world-class designers and business leaders to campus to share their experiences with Auburn students. It is supported by an endowment created by the late Charles Grisham, an Auburn alumnus, and Betty Grisham, an artist and textile designer, from Huntsville, Alabama.

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