Winners to Showcase Work at The Inspired Home Show® 2026 in Chicago this March
ROSEMONT, IL (March 2, 2026)–Six innovative student-designed products that enhance wellness, sustainability and convenience in the home earned top honors in IHA’s Global Innovation Awards (gia) Excellence in Student Design competition, sponsored by the International Housewares Association (IHA). The annual competition – now in its 33rd year – celebrates forward-thinking solutions for the home and recognizes the next generation of student designers.
The eight industrial design students behind these products will showcase them at The Inspired Home Show® 2026, to be held March 10-12 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. The Show, which brings together over 2,000 brands with attendees from 115 countries, will provide a unique opportunity for students to pitch their products and network with top leadership in the home and housewares industry.
This year, students tackled challenges ranging from healthy home environments and small space living to portable food solutions and waste reduction.
First Place Winner
Alex Kadkhodaian, Senior, Arizona State University – Pura
Pura is an environmentally-friendly air purifier that features a biodegradable filter made of mushroom mycelium fiber. The innovative design includes a compact footprint, the option for freestanding or wall-mounted placement, and cost-effective materials and features that allow for sufficient airflow, a significant factor affecting air purifier efficacy.
Kadkhodaian was awarded the Grand Prize of $3,500.
Second Place Winner
Brandon Escalona, Third Year, FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences (Austria) – LevelUp
LevelUp is a guided physiotherapy device designed to provide older adults with the support they need to maintain a consistent, confident home exercise routine. This slim, mounted product features a projector, camera, mirror and speaker system to project exercises that users can emulate on the wall in front of them, all while tracking movement and providing clear, real-time guidance.
Escalona was awarded a Second Place Prize of $2,500.
Third Place Winners
Four projects earned Third Place honors, each receiving a $1,500 award:
Loyal Prach, Senior, University of Wisconsin-Stout – Cove
Cove is a smart, temperature-controlled lunchbox that allows users to pack any meal they like, hot or cold. It has a modular food container system that lets users quickly swap, pack and clean their food containers.
Mike Minerva, Graduate, Rochester Institute of Technology – Kokoro
Designed for people who appreciate art and design, value analog processes, and seek meaningful alternatives to digital culture, Kokoro is a daily recording device that doubles as a work of art. The piece combines vintage techniques and modern engineering.
Kyle Hagerty and Kathryn Hoang, Seniors, Georgia Institute of Technology – Preserv
Preserv is a set of baby training dishes designed to be useful long past the baby stage. Thoughtful colors and design help plates and bowls that suction to eating surfaces transform into long-lasting lids for glass bowls and storage containers.
Charlie Johnson and Matthew Li, Juniors, University of Washington – Steamline
Steamline is a compact, all-in-one ironing and steaming station that is functional, easy to use and compact. It’s designed especially to improve safety, organization and efficiency for those living in small spaces.
The six projects earning top honors can be viewed at theinspiredhomeshow.com/awards/gia-student/.
Honorable Mentions
Six products also earned honorable mentions, with each of their designers receiving a $250 award:
- Peter Sutton, Junior, Western Washington University, Beam – A compact projector and soundbar in one, providing a simple solution to quality visual and audio.
- Rand Aldukhayil, Senior, Purdue University, BiT – A stackable, modular measuring device that builds from 1/8 cup to 1 cup, eliminating the need for multiple measurement tools.
- Kazuki Okamoto, Senior, California State University, Long Beach, Flow – An innovative container system that stores ingredients, unfolds to a cutting board and keeps leftovers all-in-one.
- Carmen Briones, Senior, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Harbor – An app-controlled rain collection system with built-in pump that allows users to water their gardens and monitor status with the touch of a button.
- Allison Knowles, Junior, Western Washington University, Pivot – A design-forward toaster designed to remove the guesswork from toasting and add a moment of calm to every morning.
- Bella McDermott, Junior, Western Washington University, and Gerardo Reyes, Junior, Rochester Institute of Technology, Pulse – An app-controlled tool that monitors the moisture level, pH and overall health of plants’ soil, eliminating uncertainty in how to care for indoor plants.
IHA’s gia Excellence in Student Design Competition
IHA’s gia Excellence in Student Design competition invites industrial design college students to either redesign an existing housewares product to meet evolving consumer needs or create a concept for a new product. Winning projects are evaluated based on their innovation, production feasibility, marketability and overall quality.
Since its inception in 1993, the competition has received more than 7,500 submissions, launching countless design careers and fostering the next generation of innovators. This year’s winners were chosen by an esteemed panel of 14 industry designers, brand companies and professors, including three past gia winners who have gone on to successful industrial design careers.
The Inspired Home Show
While not open to the public, The Inspired Home Show brings together more than 2,000 unique brands and hundreds of thousands of products with both global and domestic buyers for networking, trendspotting and product discovery.
The Show features four expos, education programming and networking events, in addition to attractions such as the Debut incubator, Global Design Points pavilions, Inventors Corner, SPLiCE Licensing Hub, Pet Products Pavilion, Candle Pavilion, Pantone® ColorWatch Display, New Product Showcases, and galleries featuring finalists and winners of IHA’s Global Innovation Awards (gia) in Product, Retail and Student Design.
For more information about the 2026 Show or to register, please visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com.
Editor’s Note
High-resolution photos of the winners and their products can be downloaded at https://ihagia.smugmug.com/2026-Student-Design-Competition/2026-Student-Design-Winners .
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The International Housewares Association (IHA) is the 87-year-old voice of the home and housewares industry, dedicated to bringing buyers and sellers together. IHA hosts its premier exposition of products for the home, The Inspired Home Show, in Chicago every March. Each year, the Show brings together more than 2,000 unique brands and hundreds of thousands of products with both global and domestic buyers; U.S.-based attendees alone represent more than 100,000 retail locations and over $64 billion in buying power. The not-for-profit, full-service Association also offers member companies a wide range of services including industry and government advocacy; export assistance; trend reports; executive management peer groups; group buying discounts; and an independent news and information platform, HomePageNews.com.
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