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Fernanda Nunez’s Guilloché bedside tables awarded Bespoke Guild Mark
Designer-maker Fernanda Nunez has been awarded her first Bespoke Guild Mark for the striking Guilloché bedside tables.
The Bespoke Guild Mark, awarded by The Furniture Makers’ Company, is the ultimate accolade for designer-makers, recognising excellence in design, materials, craftsmanship and function for exquisite pieces of furniture made as single items or a limited run of up to 12. It is awarded to beautifully crafted pieces of bespoke furniture and, since its launch in 1958, has been the apex of distinctions for UK designer-makers.
The Guilloché bedside table is the 476th design to be awarded a Bespoke Guild Mark in the award’s long, prestigious history. The tables represent Fernanda’s first self-designed project – an endeavour that took six months to complete and over 100 hours of extremely detailed carving and sanding work.
The design draws inspiration from a once much used but now almost forgotten decorative technique for engraving metals, the Guilloché, which creates an illusion of movement on the tables. The effect of the Guilloché pattern is enhanced by the pale beauty of the maple, evoking the rising sun. It is framed by the dark silhouetted shape of the bamboo scaffolding, conceived to create contrast through its black stained legs and rails.
The tables were designed with functionality in mind, with the depth of each drawer serving different purposes. Each bedside table has a deep, general purpose dovetailed draw, and a secret, shallow drawer for smaller and valuable objects like wallets, phones, jewellery, diaries, letters.
Daniel Hopwood, Bespoke Guild Mark chairman, said: “We were delighted to award Fernanda Nunez dos Santos a Bespoke Guild mark for her Guilloche bedside tables. Not only are they well-made but also offer interesting techniques in shaping the drawer fronts to create the illusion of movement, as well as being a thoughtful, useful design. This was an early project for Fernanda and we look forward to seeing what she makes next.”
Commenting on being awarded the Bespoke Guild Mark, Fernanda said: “I feel honoured and humbled to know that my work is recognised and appreciated by some of the most talented and respected people in our field. The journey continues and it has just begun.”
The Guilloché bedside tables are the first design to be bestowed a Bespoke Guild Mark since the launch of the award’s new brand identity in April 2021.
Pieces awarded a Bespoke Guild Mark are recognisably items of quality and distinction, and to substantiate and promote this accolade, Bespoke Guild Mark holders receive a certificate of authentication, PR opportunities, permission to use the Bespoke Guild Mark branding in communication materials and automatic consideration for the annual Claxton Stevens Prize – a £1,000 prize awarded to the best Bespoke Guild Mark awarded piece of the year.
In addition to celebrating the creativity, skilled craftsmanship and technical ability of Britain’s established designer-makers who win an award, the Bespoke Guild Mark provides invaluable expertise and insight to unsuccessful applicants to further improve their craft for the future.