Meet our members – David Dewing

As the City of London livery company for the furnishing industry, our membership is as diverse as the many people, functions and sectors that work within this wonderful trade.

Every month we cast the spotlight on one of our members, learning about their job and discovering what it is about The Furniture Makers’ Company that resonates with them. This month it is David Dewing, a Past Master of the Company who is chairman of our South West region.

Tell me about yourself, background and company you work for.

I trained as a furniture designer but switched careers into museums after 10 years. I always had a passion for history and this suited me, and I ended up as Director of the Geffrye Museum, now the Museum of the Home, which has a fantastic furniture collection. It combined my interests in design, history and furniture so it was perfect for me. 

When did you first hear about The Furniture Makers’ Company and who encouraged you to join?

The Geffrye Museum was forever in need of more support and we looked to the Furniture Makers as our best way into the City.  The Company was very welcoming and helpful, particularly people like Ray Leigh and Christopher Claxton-Stevens.   I joined in about 2009, partly to strengthen the links with the Geffrye Museum and partly because the Company was full of interesting and like-minded people.

What area of the Company’s output resonates most with you and why?

I took an early interest in the ‘excellence’ side of the Company’s work, and served on the bespoke and manufacturing guild mark committees and was for a time chairman of the three guild marks, so I was reviving my early career interest in design as well.  I’m also very keen to see the Company supporting education and training and enjoy the Young Furniture Makers Exhibition and similar events where we can see some of the great talent emerging.

What events have you got planned for the coming livery year in your region?

We’ve just had another excellent Axminster Golf Day, with a really good number of participants, fine weather and everyone having a good time, extending our contacts and cementing good relationships.  On Friday 2 June we have our New Makers’ Conference, with John Makepeace kindly attending as our headline speaker; bookings are already good and we hope it will be a great day, focused on new entrants into our industry and how to survive the first five years. We have a South West shoot on 23 June at a lovely shooting ground within sight of Glastonbury.  And in September the Master-elect is planning a visit to Highgrove as part of her year’s events, where we will tour the gardens and the Snowdon Furniture School.

Can you share a highlight or fond memory of your time involved with The Furniture Makers’ Company?

For me it has to be my Master’s year, 2015-16, which was just such a fantastic experience, being head of our Livery, invited to dinners and events all across London and beyond, the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, the Lord Mayor’s Show, spending time with Rifles in Belfast.  Nothing to compare it with and I’d recommend it to anyone, just jump in and enjoy it!

Have you got any advice to any new members regarding getting the most out of membership?

The key is, the more you get involved, the more people you meet and the better it gets – you make new friends, make useful contacts to help you in your line of work, participate in fun and interesting events which widen your experience and all the while you are supporting a great cause, helping our industry to flourish and prosper.

Finally, tell us something your fellow members may not know about you – a secret talent, an interest outside of the world of furniture.

I’ve always enjoyed making things and repairing old furniture, so I recently built myself a workshop in the garden, pretty much single-handed, during Covid, from concrete footings, joinery studwork, lining, cladding with larch, roofing with cedar shingles, plastering the inside and fitting it out with electrics, plumbing, work-benches and shelving. It’s kept the rain out so far, and hasn’t blown away, and it’s gradually settling in to acquire that nice, musty smell of wood shavings and furniture oil, with a thin layer of dust everywhere, which makes it all feel very welcoming when you open the door. What more could you ask for?