Published: November 25, 2009 12:50 am      

UK plaid a hit for area fans

Ashland — You might see it pop up anywhere: on a kitchen table, on a lady’s purse, around the neck of UK basketball coach John Calipari.

It’s the official plaid of the University of Kentucky, a design created by Christina Criollo and Jena Everhard, two students of UK’s College of Agriculture School of Human Environmental Science’s Department of Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles (MAT).

Brooke Elswick, who runs Holly B’s Jewelry and Gifts, the exclusive seller of the plaid in Ashland, said the plaid items are extremely popular with her customers.

“It has done fabulously,” Elswick said. “We can’t keep it in.”

Elswick pointed out that Calipari wore the tie recently when UK played Morehead State University. Other items in the plaid include duffle bags, cosmetic bags, student ID carriers, picture frames, table cloths and napkins and neck scarves.

The items are the result of The Plaid Project at UK, an experimental education project aimed at giving MAT students the chance to take part in product development from creative inception to finished product. Led by advisory board chairwoman and coordinator Rita Smart and Dr. Scarlett Wesley, assistant professor, the project began in 2008 in two courses in the MAT department. Students designed 35 plaids patterns, which was narrowed down to four. Online voting, which attracted 12,000, determined the winner.

The winning design incorporates seven white lines within the plaid, representing the seven national championships won by UK, Elswick said.

“They really put a lot of thought into their design,” Elswick said.

For more information or to view the UK plaid, visit ukplaid.com.

LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.