The Furniture Makers’ Company and Whitemeadow Upholstery launch design award

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity, and Whitemeadow Upholstery are delighted to announce the launch of the first-ever Whitemeadow Upholstery Design Award for 2017.

The new award, which was launched on Monday 30 January 2017, will ask students to design a commercial upholstery range of sofas or chairs for the home, focusing on excellence in design, materials, craftsmanship and function.

The competition is open to any product design or furniture design student over the age of 18 in full time education at any college or university in the UK.

The winner will be offered a paid work placement within Whitemeadow’s busy design department at its base in Sutton In Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, where they’ll receive insight into the practical side of upholstery design and manufacture.

Ben Burbidge, Master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, said: “As the furnishing industry’s charity, we want to encourage new talent to enter our industry and have put in place an extensive education programme to help create a powerful workforce for the future.

“We would like to thank Whitemeadow for sponsoring this new award, which will challenge young people to think both creatively and commercially, and for offering such a fantastic prize to the winner.”

Ian Oscroft, managing director at Whitemeadow, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with The Furniture Makers’ Company, our industry’s charity, on this new award. There is a wealth of talent out there and we’re excited to see what the students can design.

“We know that to ensure Whitemeadow stays at the forefront of the industry, we need to continually bring fresh new designs to the market and to that end we encourage a working climate for inspiration.  We look forward to welcoming the eventual winner and helping them develop as a designer.”

The deadline for entries is Friday 14 April 2017.

The information pack and application form is available by emailing Damilola Bamidele: grantsandeducation@furnituremakers.org.uk.