As the furniture industry’s central organisation, charity and patron, the Furniture Makers does a lot of work in the fields of education, training and skills: working with the industry to ensure that the profession has the people it needs now and in the future to flourish.
One of its central educational roles is to support the numerous industry schemes, projects and competitions that exist to encourage students to excel.
In order to bring the various schemes together and showcase the young design talent the UK possesses, the Furniture Makers hosted a the ‘Student Presentation’ at the Furniture Makers’ Hall on 25 September 2012. The event was a chance to celebrate the outstanding work of these students and the colleges they attend, while also shining a light on the work the livery does in this area.
Most of the schemes, sponsored and supported by private firms in the industry, encourage design students to consider the future, thinking about what furniture we’ll need to live and work and to come up with designs to meet these needs. The event brought together participants in these schemes and gave them a chance to present their work and explain the thought process and inspiration behind them.
As well as using the event to celebrate the designs produced by the students, the Furniture Makers presented the Young Furniture Maker of the Year award to members of the livery’s youth section. This is a new award and is presented to the student who has contributed the most to the Livery in that year. This year it was awarded jointly to Elizabeth Ret and Lloyd Manning.
The Student Presentation evening was a huge success and demonstrated the support that the Livery gives to students in preparing them for a career in the Furniture industry. Emile Jones, who presented his design for the Furniture Design Summer School Workshop Italy Project, said of the event: “At a personal level I would like to thank the Furniture Makers for giving me the opportunity to take part in three special events this year. Without their support and sponsorship these projects would not take place.”
