Has it really been a year?  I can remember when we first learned that Television icon and entertainment pioneer, Ellen DeGeneres 1) had a passion for design and 2) wanted to work with HGTV.

Talk about excited!  I mean, who doesn't love Ellen?  

Fast forward to the present, and the excitement just keeps growing as we approach the second season of Ellen's Design Challenge.  

Eight hopeful furniture designers are about to hit the ground running in the next generation of this intense competition. Their end goal: to create that one-of-a-kind design and win a prize package that includes $100,000, a feature in HGTV Magazine, and the title of furniture design superstar.

Of course, Ellen's not the only one they have to impress. Cliff Fong (owner of the interior design firm Matt Blacke Inc.), Christiane Lemieux (founder of Lemieux et Cie and DwellStudio) and a host of special guests from the world of design and architecture weigh in on the weekly challenges.  

And those talented carpenters are back to help our contestants in their race against the clock. This year's team of experts includes Chip Wade, Matt Blashaw, Jeff Devlin, Matt Muenster, Karl Champley, Brooks Utley, Stephen Zimpel and Ali Azhar. 

But the real pièce de résistance is the design, the furniture projects these incredible artists produce in record time.  

You know I can't show those yet (so don't even ask).  But I will show you this clip from the casting special...

Set your reminders now for Ellen's Design Challenge.  And if you want the real inside scoop, join the live Twitter premiere party, hosted by Chip Wade, with special guests from the show.  Just use #EllenDesignOnHGTV to join.

The new season of Ellen's Design Challenge premieres Monday at 9|8c, only on HGTV.