MARSHALL E. PURNELL, FAIA: INAUGURATED 84th PRESIDENT & 1st AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHETECTS IN 2008

Marshall E. Purnell, FAIA, a principal at Devrouax + Purnell Architects and Planners PC in Washington, D.C., was inaugurated as the 84th president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) during ceremonies held on December 15th 2007. He succeeds RK Stewart, FAIA, and will represent the more than 83,000 AIA members in the coming year. Purnell was elected at the AIA 2006 annual convention in Los Angeles, and has served as AIA first vice president this past year.

His inaugural speech highlighted the need for collaboration among design professionals, developers and politicians to best address challenges such as urban sprawl, deteriorating schools, affordable housing, transportation infrastructure and public health, safety and welfare with a sustainable perspective. He also called for forging stronger alliances with professional organizations, community leaders and product manufacturers to further common causes.

Purnell added, “We have to take a serious look at who we are as well as the rising generations of young women and men in this country who would and could and should consider architecture as a profession. We must be more representative of the society we seek to serve. We must actively, creatively and with an unshakable commitment to succeed, pursue this diverse representation. We must pursue it not simply as a moral, but a professional imperative.”

Noteworthy projects that his firm has designed include the Washington Nationals baseball team Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. Convention Center, Martin Luther King Memorial, MCI Center (now Verizon Center) and PEPCO headquarters.

Purnell's leadership within the AIA has spanned several years having served as Mid-Atlantic Regional Director from 2003-2006, as well as serving as president of AIA / Washington, D.C. in 2003. His contributions to the architectural profession were recognized with his investiture in the American Institute of Architects' College of Fellows in 1991.

About The American Institute of Architects
For 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such resources and access, they help clients and communities make their visions real. www.aia.org

PIONEER AFRICAN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER: CHARLES HARRISON, WINNER OF COOPER HEWITT'S 2008 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

"I HAVE DISCOVERED, IT IS NEVER TO LATE TO FIND A NEW INSPIRATION IN YOUR LIFE.... THIS BOOK ABOUT CHARLES HARRISON,.. A PIONEER AFRICAN AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER, IS A MUST READ,... A HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION OF A AFRICAN-AMERICANS CONTRIBUTION TO THE AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

THIS BOOK "A LIFE'S DESIGN" SHOULD BE IN EVERY HOUSEHOLDS LIBRARY IN AMERICA... I WISH I HAD THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS STUDYING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AT PRATT INSTITUTE."

XENOBIA BAILEY: FIBER ARTIST/CULTURAL ACTIVIST


Charles Harrison, an industrial designer at Sears, Roebuck & Company for more than three decades, improved the quality of life of millions of Americans through the extraordinary breadth and innovation of his product designs. One of the first African Americans to enter the design field, Harrison began working for Sears in 1961 and eventually became the company’s Chief Designer. During his distinguished career, Harrison maintained an unwavering commitment to the needs of the average consumer, creating an astonishing 750 products—from radios and sewing machines to hair dryers—for nearly every area of the home. Among his most iconic designs are the first-of-its-kind plastic garbage can, a lighter, more durable alternative to its metal counterpart; and a redesign of the now classic View-Master. Harrison currently teaches design at Columbia College in Chicago.

The View-Master is one good reason the American product designer, Charles 'Chuck' Harrison [b 1931] won the Cooper Hewitt's 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Harrison, an industrial designer at Sears, Roebuck and Company for more than 30 years, produced at least 750 designs for pretty much any gadget you might care for or need in the home from radios and hairdryers to sewing machines, power tools, toasters and – his favourite – the first plastic rubbish bins. 'No more clang-clang of metal before breakfast', he says. He currently teaches design at Columbia College, Chicago.

Charles Harrison. Garbage Can. 1963. Manufacturer: GaTX, Michigan City, IN. Designed for Sears Roebuck & Company, Chicago, IL. Photo: Charles Harrison

Hard Bonnet Tabletop Hair Dryer (before (l) and after). Sears Roebuck & Company. 1977. Photo: Charles Harrison.

Compact Sewing Machine and Carrying Case. Charles Harrision (USA), Ted Nishigami (Japan) and Kenneth Grange (UK). Manufactured for Sears Roebuck &

Harrison's ascent from his birthplace in Shreveport, Louisiana to his becoming the first African American executive at Sears, Roebuck and Co, was a long but not altogether slow one. Talent will out, and he was in an executive position by the age of 30. His story is told, with plenty of enjoyable illustrations, in his biography A Life's Design.

About A Life's Design
Designs by Chuck Harrison not only reflected our changing lives, they often drove the transformation itself that took place in the American home and workplace during the era following World War II through the mid-1980s.
Retired from both professional design and teaching, Harrison is currently speaking on his life's work and passion as captured in this insightful memoir.

A Life's Design chronicles the life, career and the emergent philosophy of Charles "Chuck" Harrison, one the most prolific and respected industrial designers of his time, an influencer on style and design today, and a pioneer as the first African American executive ever hired by Sears Roebuck & Company.
"The range of design projects that Harrison completed in his career was quite remarkable," writes Professor Noel Mayo, Department of Design at Ohio State University. "This book will be very helpful to designers, historians, design educators and students around the world."

Harrison's inspirational life, his timeless approach to design and his passion for inspiring others with humor, insight and humility provide a story worth hearing.

"In this inspiring story of adversity and achievement, Harrison blends heart-warming personal detail with a straightforward description of his work as an industrial designer," comments Victoria Matranga, Design Programs coordinator for the International Housewares Association.

Life Changing Design
MY LIFE’S WORK
Over the course of my career, I’ve been involved with the creation of almost all areas of household products. Below is just a short listing of the many products I’ve designed.


• 35mm cameras
• AM-FM radios
• baby cribs
• back massagers
• barber chairs
• bicycles
• binoculars
• blenders
• calculators
• can openers
• cassette recorders
• circulating heaters
• clothes hampers
• compact whirlpools
• cordless shavers
• dinette sets
• electric portable mixers
• electric scissors
• electric toothbrushes
• electric wall clocks
• fishing equipment
• fondue pots
• hearing aids
• hedge clippers
• insoles for shoes
• kitchen appliances
• kitchen ranges
• makeup mirrors
• manicure tools
• paint brushes
• coffee percolators
• phonographs
• portable bars
• portable hair dryers
• riding lawn mowers
• shoe buffers
• sleds
• soda fountains
• sprinklers
• storm doors
• telephones
• television sets
• toasters
• tractors
• waffle irons
• wall unit shelving
• wet mops
• window guards
• wooden desks

PORTIONS OF THE (RE) POSSESSED EXHIBIT: PUBLIC OPENING, FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM, BROCKTON MASS. AUGUST 10, 2008-MARCH 8, 2009

THE MOST AMAZING FORMATION OF STORM CLOUDS WERE IN THE BOSTON SKY AS MARY FROM THE FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM AND I WERE RIDING FROM THE AMTRAK TRAIN STATION IN BOSTON, ON OUR WAY TO THE OPENING MY THE EXHIBIT PORTIONS OF THE (RE) POSSESSED.

I WISH I COULD HAVE WATCH HOW THESE BEAUTIFUL FLUFFY WHITE CLOUDS SLOWLY CHANGED INTO DARK RAIN CLOUDS WITH THUNDER AND LIGHTNING... WHAT I WAS ABLE TO OBSERVE WAS MAJESTIC.




















AFTER I WAS PICKED UP BY MARY AT THE TRAIN STATION, ON THE WAY TO THE FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM, MARY WAS SO VERY KIND TO TAKE ME TO THE WALMART SUPER STORE TO GET SOME YARN TO CROCHET ON MY WAY BACK TO NEW YORK, AND TO LOOK AT WHAT BLACK BARBIE DOLLS THEY HAD IN THE STORE.


THEN MARY DROVE ME OVER TO A WONDERFUL THRIFT STORE, AND THIS IS WERE I FOUND A CARDBOARD BOX FULL OF SECONDHAND NAKED BARBIE DOLLS. THIS WAS A VERY INSPIRING FIND,... I DID NOT FIND VERY MANY BLACK BARBIES,... BUT NOW I'M ON THE LOOK OUT FOR THEM IN THE THRIFT STORES ACROSS AMERICA.... YES,... YOU WILL BE SEEING SOME FUNKY SECONDHAND BROWN SKIN BARBIE DOLLS WITH CHIC COLORFUL CROCHET OUTFITS, SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE,... MARK MY WORD ON THIS ONE.... THANKS MARY!!!

WE FINALLY MADE IT TO THE MUSEUM FOR THE PUBLIC OPENING OF PORTIONS OF THE (RE) POSSESSED


THIS IS MRS KAUFMAN... WE MEET ON THE AMTRAK TRAIN COMING INTO BOSTON, SHE'S A RETIRED HISTORY TEACHER, WE HAD A VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATION ON OUR WAY INTO BOSTON... HER AND HER HUSBAND CAME TO THE EXHIBIT OPENING, I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO SEE THEM....

THE MOON SIDE OT THE EXHIBIT

THE SUN SIDE OF THE EXHIBIT

SISTAH FRIENDS KNIT-A-QUE IN HARLEM ORGANIZED BY SAHARA BRISCO

I STOPPED BY REAL QUICK TO THE SISTAH-FRIENDS KNIT-A-QUE AT ST NICHOLAS PARK IN HARLEM, AT 132 ST. ST. NICHOLAS AVE.. I GOT THERE JUST BEFORE SUNDOWN AND FOLKS WAS STILL THERE.

THE GATHERING WAS GREAT, I BROUGHT SOME KNITTING TO WORK ON, BUT, JUST LIKE LAST YEAR,... I DID'NT EVEN TAKE IT OUT OF MY BAG.

FROM WHAT I HEARD BEFORE I ARRIVED, A LITTLE BIT OF KNEEDLE WORK WAS DONE,.... AND A WHOLE LOT OF EATING WAS DONE.

LAST YEAR WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE NEW BABIES ARRIVAL,... AND NOW HERE SHE IS, AT HER SECOND SISTAH FRIENDS KIT-A-QUE... SHE IS SUCH A GOOD BABY.... SHE IS TRULY ONE OF THE GIRL'S.

SAHARA, THE ORGANIZER OF THIS EVENT, BARE-FOOT AND WORKING AT HER SPINNING WHEEL. SAHARA IS A FABULOUS KNITTER, SHE IS REALLY SKILLED, SHE IS SPINNING HER OWN DESIGNER YARN HERE. SHE IS A EXCELLENT KNITTING INSTRUCTOR ALSO.

ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYONE WENT FOR MORE FOOD AT THE SAME TIME.

FOLKS HELPING THEMSELVES TO MAKE A PLATE TO TAKE HOME LEFT OVERS.

THIS HERE IS MY FISH ON THE GRILL... ENOUGH GOOD THINGS CANNOT BE SAID ABOUT HOW TASTY FISH ON A OUT-DOORS GRILL IS... AM I RIGHT OR WRONG?

THE HOMEMADE WITH LOVE,... RED VELVET CUPCAPES YUMMY, YUM, YUM!!!!!

THIS NEEDLE ARTIST BROUGHT GIFTS FOR EVERYONE.... LITTLE BAGS OF CRYSTAL STITCHE HOLDERS FOR KNITTERS, THEY WERE SO BEAUTIFUL, SHE REALLY DID A WONDERFUL JOB ON THESE CREATIONS. I HOPE THESE TREASURED ITEMS ARE PART OF HER PRODUCT LINE.

HERE SHE IS HOLDING A FEW BAGS THAT SHE GAVE AWAY TO EVERYONE THAT ATTENDED, EACH BAG HAD 5 STITCH HOLDERS FOR KNITTING IN EACH BAG... THAT WAS SO VERY SWEET OF HER.

THIS IS EVERYONE GRABBING FOR A BAG OF THE STITCH HOLDERS TO TAKE HOME WITH THEM.

ADMIRING THIER NEW NEEDLE ART TREASURE TOOLS.

SAHARA TAKING PHOTO'S OF KNITTED WORKS IN PROGRESS.

MORE DOCUMENTATION OF WORKS IN PROGRESS.

FOLDING UP THE SPINNING WHEELS, CROCHET HOOKS, KNITTING NEEDLES UNTIL NEXT SUMMER.

LOADING UP THE CAR BEFORE DAWN, AFTER A VERY RELAXING NEEDLE ARTS GET-TOGETHER.