New Furniture Makers Exhibition 2026: Why supporting emerging talent matters to the future of furniture

Every industry needs new ideas, new skills and new people if it is to evolve. For the furniture and furnishing sector, supporting the next generation of designers and makers is essential to ensuring it continues to innovate and thrive.

That is one of the driving forces behind the New Furniture Makers Exhibition, organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company and sponsored in 2026 by Staples & Co.

Bringing together emerging designers and makers from universities, colleges and courses across the UK, the exhibition provides a showcase for new talent and, importantly, an opportunity for the furniture trade to engage directly with the next generation.

Fresh thinking for a changing industry

The furniture industry is evolving. Sustainability, new materials, advances in manufacturing technology and changing expectations about how we live and work are influencing the products being created and the skills businesses need.

Emerging designers are approaching these challenges with fresh perspectives.

The work exhibited at the New Furniture Makers Exhibition demonstrates that breadth of thinking, from experimentation with materials and manufacturing techniques to new approaches to sustainability, functionality and craftsmanship.

For industry visitors, the exhibition offers a window into how the next generation is thinking about furniture and the issues that will influence its future.

Bringing education and industry together

However, developing talent requires more than a good education.

One of the aims of the New Furniture Makers Exhibition is to strengthen the connection between education and industry by bringing emerging talent into the same room as manufacturers, retailers, designers, suppliers and other established professionals.

That interaction benefits both sides.

Young designers gain greater exposure to the commercial furniture sector, while businesses have the opportunity to understand the skills, ideas and ambitions of those preparing to enter it.

It also gives the industry an opportunity to listen. Understanding what motivates the next generation and how they approach design, materials and making can help businesses think differently about their own future.

Showing emerging makers that furniture has a future for them

The exhibition also sends an important message to those at the beginning of their careers: the furniture industry values their talent.

Through exhibiting their work, meeting industry professionals and receiving recognition through the New Furniture Makers Awards, emerging designers can see that there is a sector interested in what they have to offer.

But that requires industry participation.

By attending the exhibition, talking to exhibitors and taking an interest in their work, businesses and professionals can play a small but important part in encouraging talented people to build their futures within furniture.

Investing in what comes next

Supporting emerging talent should not simply be seen as giving something back. It is an investment in the long-term strength of the furniture and furnishing industry.

The designers and makers exhibiting today could become tomorrow’s craftspeople, product designers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

The New Furniture Makers Exhibition gives the trade an opportunity to see that future taking shape – and to play a part in supporting it.

The New Furniture Makers Exhibition, sponsored by Staples & Co, takes place on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at Furniture Makers’ Hall and the Dutch Church in the City of London.